Conclusion of Peace
by Morgana Makaber
Summary: When Zuko finds an unconscious Katara, he immediately plans to use her to capture the Avatar. But of course things never go as planned.
1. The Chase

**This story starts during episode 8 of book 2. Toph has stormed of and Aang flew away on his glider trying to fool Azula and her friends. Zuko just had his self finding experience when he tried to help that earth kingdom family.**

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**The Chase**

They were in desperate need of sleep and searching for a runaway Toph, when they noticed that they were still being chased. They shouldn't be. The plan had been that Aang would lure them away with Appa's fur. Apparently, that hadn't worked out.

Katara tried to bring Appa to go faster, but he was already past his limits. Even more tired than the rest of them, he almost fell asleep while flying. They barely made it safely to the ground, leaving the river between themselves and their enemies. But their joy over being save only lasted a few seconds. Mai and Ty Lee spurred their lizards and went straight over the river. A fight was inescapable now. If only they weren't so tired, if only they hadn't separated, if only …

It was no use to dwell on that. They got into fighting stances, ready to strike. But all they really achieved was to get out of the way of Ty Lee's hands and block Mai's knives. They had lost even before the fight began. Sokka soon was jabbed by Ty Lee in various places. He fell behind a bush, unable to move, unable to help his sister. He heard Katara desperately fight – and loose. He heard the girls talk about their victory. He heard them leave. And then his world went black.

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**I hope I could capture your interest with this intro. Please reviw and let me know what you think.**

**My special thanks goes to appa-appa-away**:** She is the one, who gave me the encouragement to start writing and even offered to be my beta**.

**Thank you, for all your precious advices!**


	2. A Little Girl

**Sorry, this chapter isn't much longer than the previous one, but I'm sure I'll soon get the hang of it and the chapters will "grow". **

**Thank you so much for your kind reviews. I never knew what a spur reviews really are when I was just a reader, but believe me; this really works wonders on a writer's imagination and enthusiasm.**

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When he entered the scene he immediately knew there had been a fierce battle. He recognised the traces of Mai's knifes. The tracks on the ground indicated that there were at least four people involved. But the only person he saw was one little girl, covered in her own blood. Of course he recognised her. How could he not? Who else would wear this Water Tribe outfit here in the Earth Kingdom?

_Is she dead?_

There was something like regret in his chest by that thought. He needed to check.

No, she was still breathing, even if just laboured.

_Where are her friends? W__here is the Avatar for that matter? How could they just leave her behind?_

He needed to figure out what to do.

_Could I use her__ to get the Avatar? But if she was this important to him, why would he leave her like this? It was a try though. In the past they'd always been together. But that was a long time ago…_

_First things first; s__he needs some medical treatment. If I present her to the Avatar like this, I might end up dead._

So Zuko cleaned her wounds, and bandaged the more severe cuts.

_Mai really did a number on her. It's a wonder she's still alive._

He wondered briefly if she might die on his watch, but blocked out that thought.

_If any vital organs were damaged, she would have died long ago._

Or so he hoped. He didn't want to imagine this girl's death. When he was done with his medical treatment, he started to plan his strike against the Avatar. Would this finally lead to his victory? But how to proceed? Where to go? And what to do with the girl once she wakes up? He knew first hand what a good water bender she had become. If allowed, his body still remembered the pain.

_Better not dwell on it. As long as I keep her away from any water, I should be fine. Without water as a weapon she is just a little girl._

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**I told you this is short, sorry. I promise to update soon though. Please review, any kind of well meant criticism is appreciated.**


	3. No Happy View

**As you will see, I "borrowed" some dialogue directly from the show, I hope you don't mind. But I think that is something Katara really needed to get it out of her system, so she might move on. Oh, and there is a minor bit of implied Kataang, but don't worr****y, that's just how she feels TODAY that will change soon. I hope you enjoy it at least as much, as I enjoyed writing it.**

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**No Happy View**

The first thing that she registered was the movement. She was riding on something - an animal. But it couldn't be Appa, this animal was walking and it was much smaller than Appa.

_Katara think! What's the last thing you remember?_

_Ah, yes. The fight with the girls from Omashu. Wait one of them was missing. I bet that means that she went after Aang. I hope he is ok._

_What else?_

_Oh. No! Sokka! I saw him go down, and then it was me against two. When I open my eyes, will I see you, Sokka? Please be ok, please be ok!_

_I'm so afraid. Once I open my eyes this all becomes real. What if Sokka isn't here? What if he is dead? Katara, don't even think something like that! He can't be … he just can't!_

_Will they notice that I'm awake? What will happen to me, if they do?_

Carefully she pried open one eye and registered with a start the distance to the ground. She never thought lizards were this big. After the initial puzzlement she could focus and realized that she must be on an ostrich-horse.

_Strange. Why did they put me onto an ostrich- horse? And what do they plan to do with me anyway?_

She tried to gather more information with her ears. But to no avail.

_For Toph this seems to be so easy. Why can't I hear anything? So unfair!_

But soon she realised, that she could hear something. Footsteps! Not much, but it was a start.

So _somebody has to walk, because I took the ride. Ha, serves her right!_

"Hm, you are finally awake, I see."

_Zuko?! What the?! How?! Why?!_

Katara sat up slowly, trying to take in the situation. She was sitting on an ostrich-horse that was led by Zuko, of all people. And nobody else was around; neither the frightful girls nor Sokka.

"What did you do to my brother?" she demanded to know.

He looked at her strangely and seemed to contemplate his answer.

"He was long gone when I found you."

She was used to his harsh, hateful words, but now he seemed to genuinely be sorry for her. She couldn't take it.

"What is this? What's your big plan? Are you trying to get Aang by using me, AGAIN?!"

He stopped and turned around. Looking her straight in the eyes, he challenged:

"So what if I am? What could you do to stop me?"

She knew he was right; there was no water to bend, so her only weapon at the moment was her sharp tongue, and she would use it.

"You are a terrible person, you know that?! Always following us, hunting the Avatar; trying to capture the world's last hope for peace? But what do you care? You are the Fire Lord's son; spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood!"

Her words dripped with loathing and they cut deep into his soul.

"You don't know what you are talking about."

"I DON'T?! How dare you?! You have no idea what this war has put me through; me personally!

_Oh. No! I'm not going to cry. Not in front of HIM. I won't. Don't cry!_

She tried to calm herself with some steadying breaths. Her glistening eyes burned with unshed tears, but she refused to let them fall.

Zuko looked away then, not knowing how to react. He had seen too many things over the last few months. The girl with the burned leg came to mind. He knew Katara was right. This war did terrible things to the people and the Fire Nation was the main reason all those innocent people had to suffer.

"We need to keep going. Scoot over! Now that you are up again I'll ride on the ostrich-horse too."

She didn't like it; not one bit. He was too close, pressed against her backside, his arms circled around her. This was bad, she felt so helpless. Katara had contemplated to flee, but she knew it was pointless. As long as he had that ostrich-horse, Zuko would get her back in no time.

_If this was Aang behind me, this actually would feel nice. Yeah, if …_

_Where are you guys? I hope you are alright._

She'd send a silent prayer to who ever might listen for the safety of her brother and friends, and then went back to the task of figuring a way out of this awful situation.

They moved fast; soon they would leave the forest behind and reach the mountains. Katara felt weak; she couldn't remember when the last time she'd had a proper meal had been, and she was in dire need of something to drink. Though she hated it, she was ready to ask Zuko for some water and anything to fill her empty stomach, when he suddenly stopped the ostrich-horse.

"The sun is about to set. We will rest here for the night." Zuko stated.

When Katara sat on the hard ground, she realized how sore and tired she was from the long ride. Watching him tie the animal to a tree, she noticed, for the first time, that Zuko had only one small bag with him.

_Where are all his supplies and his sleeping bag? He is a prince, for crying out lou! Come to speak of it, shouldn't he have some servants around?_

Zuko sat down across from Katara, opened his bag and took out some fruits and bread. "You must be hungry, here have some." And with that he offered her his meagre dinner. She didn't have to be told twice; without stopping herself to think if this was wrong, she took some of the fruit and munched them greedily.

An unwanted pang of remorse hit the prince when he watched the girl. What had he put her through, in this condition? He had no idea how long she had been unconscious when he'd found her, but since then it had been hours. He should at least have given her some water. But there lay the problem; how to do so without endangering himself?

He could hear his uncle scold him in his mind; "_You never think things through!"_

Yeah, right! The water was one issue, and the other was, how to ensure that she wouldn't run off during the night.

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**That's it for today. Please review!... Special thanks to Appa-Appa-Away, who helps me to make this story so much better, no, even more, without her I would never had the guts to start writing in the first place. So bow down to my mentor and go read her ****stories too, if you haven't already! She just started a new one called "Behind the lies", which is going to be so awesome. I can tell, because I already had the pleasure to read the first chapter.**


	4. Now I Fall

**Thanks to all my reviewers! You are great! It is so exciting to read what you think of my little story so far. Please keep doing that, it's very encouraging.  
**

**I guess I'm supposed to mention it now and then: The Avatar and all the other characters in this story are not mine. If they were, there would be a book 4 soon. Also the title of this and the previous chapter are borrowed from one of my favourite bands: Wolfsheim. ("No Happy View" and "Now I Fall" are from the album "Popkiller")**

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Chapter 4

**Now I Fall**

Zuko stayed awake that night. It was the only way, since he could think of no other, to make sure Katara wouldn't escape. This gave him time to think. He remembered the harsh words she had thrown at him the day before.

"You are a terrible person, you know that?! Always following us, hunting the Avatar; trying to capture the world's last hope for peace? …"

'_I'm not like that, I'm not violent, I never wanted the war and I don't spread hatred. I just want to go home and be loved by my father again... is that so wrong?'_

He remembered all the times he almost captured the avatar, all the times he came in contact with this girl. Seeing her necklace blink in the moonlight he recalled when he found the same thing lying on the ground at a deserted earthbender prison, taking and keeping it in his pocket for weeks. Not without shame, he looked back on the day he teamed up with that dreaded pirates, when he had tied her to a tree and baited her, telling her that he would give the trinket back to her if she helped him. He remembered using the necklace against her, when he hired that bounty hunter…

'_No wonder she hates me.' _

Watching over her in her sleep he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she really was.

'_Yeah, right, she is beautiful, but she is also a poisonous viper. How dare she rebuke me like that? Even if she was right - but of course, she wasn't - no peasant is allowed to speak to the Fire Lord's son in that manner.Pf... only that the same Fire Lord is ashamed, to have a son like me.'_

"Father considers you as a miserable failure, for not finding the Avatar. Why would he want YOU back home, except for locking you up, where you can no longer embarrass him?"

Azula lied to him a lot, but Zuko had the feeling that this time, she didn't need to.

_I'll s__how you, I'll show you all! This time I won't fail; even if a pawn has to be sacrificed, as sad as that might be._

He let his eyes remorsefully roam over Katara's sleeping form, the decision made.

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Katara felt refreshed when she woke up; a little cold though, since she had to sleep without a sleeping bag or a blanket. Groaning she stretched, taking in her surroundings until her eyes fell on Zuko. He looked like hell, like he hadn't slept in days.

Just like the evening before, Zuko provided some bread and fruits out of his bag. Katara measured the amount of goods still inside; even if all the contents were victuals, it still wouldn't last long.

'_I just hope he knows where we are going. If we don't come near a village soon, we'll starve.'_

"Um, I think … you must be quite thirsty. I'm going to give you some water now. But don't try anything funny, or you'll regret it."

To prove his point he let a small ball of fire appear in front of his hands.

So yeah, she could have used the water to make a water whip, but what good would that have done her? And it wasn't enough to freeze him on the spot, so this small amount of water could never help her escape. Besides, her body needed the water far more than any escape. She realized then, that Zuko had done her no harm this whole time.

'_At least as long as I am_ _awake'_ she amended. She shuddered at the thought what he might has done while she was out for the count. Her view fell onto the bandage on her right hand, '_did he patch me up?'_ She knew she was bandaged in various other places: her legs, just below the ribcage …

'_Was it him? Did he undress me?' _Blushing ever so slightly; she stopped her train of thought just then and there.

If he noticed her distress, he didn't let it show. When they were done having breakfast Zuko gathered his few belongings and then they headed further in the direction of the mountains. The vegetation became scarce and soon it was all stones and rocks.

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In the early afternoon they rested again. "I'm going to hunt us a small animal for dinner. Can I trust you to still be here when I come back?" That was a stupid question, and he knew that. If she planned to run, she wouldn't tell him. But he trusted her to be sensible enough not to run off into the nothingness of this desert of stones.

'_But she could run off with your ostrich-horse and leave you here to wither away. _

_No, she wouldn't do that. _

_Says who?_

_They even took me back to the village, that time on the North Pole, when I finally succeeded to capture the Avatar, only to get lost in a snow storm._

_But this time she just might hate you enough to leave you to die._

_Don't be ridiculous_

_Who is the ridiculous one? Leaving the enemy with everything you need to survive and trusting she won't take advantage of the situation …'_

So engrossed he was in his inner debate, that he didn't really pay attention to where he stepped. Mother Nature wouldn't let him get away with that and it came as it must be; he moved to near to a sand viper. Hissing, it propelled itself from the ground an bit him into his left thigh. The snake had no time to regret it's mistake and soon it was revaluated to be the teens' dinner for today.

As Zuko neared the camp, Katara knew something wasn't right. She got up from her resting place and took some steps towards him. His movements were awkward, he didn't walk straight and he was sweating more than he should. When they were face to face she noticed his glazed over eyes and the snake in his hands.

"What is this?" Katara asked with growing horror.

"Dinner" was his flat reply.

"You don't look so good, did it bite you?"

"Yeah, but's no so bad," the reply was slurred.

"Oh, no! Where, where did it bite you?"

"Don worry, s nothin" she could barely make out the words now and her panic grew.

"Just show me, please!" when he didn't react she tried another approach.

"I have never seen a snake bite, I'm so curious, oh, please, let me see."

"S here" he slurred while patting on his left thigh and then he collapsed.

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**In case you hadn't noticed: I didn't loose my ability to spell, but Zuko lost his to articulate correct. **

**Thanks again Appa-Appa-Away! You did a great job as a beta reader. **


	5. Why do only scars remain

**And again: The Avatar and all the characters involved didn't sprung from my imagination, I merely play with the thought, what might have happened if one thing had gone slightly different. And the title of the chapter is once again inspired by the band Wolfsheim and their album "Popkiller".**

**This chapter is dedicated to Saucebender, who had so many interesting questions, which will be answered now. Thank you, please keep doing so, I love it.**

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Chapter 5

**Why do only scars remain**

With trembling hands, Katara removed the cloth from Zuko's leg. She closed her lips around the two punctured wounds and sucked hard. When she tasted the coppery liquid mixed with the acrid venom, she started to gag. She spat it out and, ignoring her own queasiness, started to suck even more. Eventually she stopped the procedure, when she felt that she wouldn't get more venom out of his system.

A glance to his face told her that he was still out cold. Tentatively Katara touched Zuko's sweaty forehead and wasn't surprised to find out that he had an attack of fever. She took the water skin from his side, bended a small amount of water out and started to heal Zuko.

"Please hang on Zuko, you are stronger than this" she told him softly.

When he finally came around, Zuko was surprised to see the worry on Katara's face.

Gradually he became aware what must have happened. He registered the water skin lying beside him, the dead viper, the pool of blood mixed with saliva and the little trace of blood that lingered on Katara's lips.

"You … you just saved my life"

"Maybe, but you might have gotten over it all by yourself."

"Don't be silly; the poison of this viper can kill a komodo-rhino."

_Great I had that in my mouth … along with Zuko's blood._

Her mind flashed back to the taste and she couldn't suppress the shudder that raked up her body.

"Why didn't you take your chance to escape from me?"

"And leave you to die? You think I'm that kind of person?"

"Why would you care? I'm your enemy; a terrible person, who spreads war and violence and hatred."

The softly spoken words filled her with regret. Biting her bottom lip she casted her eyes down; she couldn't look at his sad face right now. Realizing how deep she had hurt him, she swallowed at the lump that formed in her throat.

"I'm sorry I jelled at you. I shouldn't have said all those awful things to you."

"Yeah, but you meant it, every word of it. That's what you think of me." His voice was crackling.

"I'm so sorry."

Abruptly Zuko stood up and walked stiffly back to the camp, leaving Katara to dwell on her raging emotions.

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Later that night they sat together in uncomfortable silence. Katara had so many things she waned to say and ask, but she didn't dare. Looking solemnly into the fire, she tried to figure out a way to break the mood. Lost in her thoughts she got startled when he suddenly spoke.

"Thank you, Katara."

"Hm?" the surprise was written plainly on her face.

"For saving my life."

"Oh, …ahm … you are welcome"

_Careful Katara, don't say something wrong again._

"How do you feel, by the way? You are pretty injured yourself?"

"No, not anymore, I used some of the water that you left me to heal myself. I'm all better now. Thank you for asking."

The tension was still tangible and weighted heavy on the two teenagers.

_This is awful; __there has to be a topic we can discus without getting the mood even darker than it already is._

"So, what would common Fire Nation kids do on a night like this, gathered around a campfire?"

"What would I know about the common kids?"

_And wrong again._

"When I was a child we seldom did something akin to a campfire. But I remember one night when Azula and I sat outside at a fire with our parents. Father told us how great the Fire Nation was and gave us a lecture about our ancestors."

_Hm, or maybe not._

"Did you like it?"

"We were on Ember Island at our summer house for some vacation; our Mom was still with us. Back then I believed every word our father said, yes, I had a great time."

"What happened to your Mom?"

" I … she …I don't really know. One night, when I was about eight years old, she woke me up and told me strange things about how everything she did was to protect me and that I should never forget who I am. That was the last time I saw her. Azula told me she was killed, but I still hope that she lied."

"So, we actually do have something in common then. I lost my mother too. One day a ship of the Fire Nation arrived at our village. Soldiers raided our homes and when they finally left, my Mom was dead. All that I still have of her is this necklace."

At that, Zuko tentatively took Katara's hand and squeezed it slightly.

"What about the Water Tribe, do you do campfire nights?"

"We love it. We sit together and tell terrifying stories while roasting bread on sticks in the fire."

"Sounds like fun, care to share one of those stories with me?"

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"I still can't believe we lost Katara," Aang was near tears.

"Twinkletoes, I know you miss Sugarqueen, but we should really start with our earthbending training now."

"What?! I can't just train when Katara is out there, needing my help!"

"Yeah, but the point is, we are not able to find her. We searched the last two days for her; she could be halfway to the Fire Nation capital for all we know.."

"But I can't just give up. Sokka, please try to remember, what were those girls talking about? Did they give any hint to where they might have taken her?"

"They discussed what to do with us. The girl that took me out said something like: 'Azula didn't give us strict orders, let's just leave them here and meet up with Azula again.' I think she likes me." Sokka grinned wide for a second, but soon he let his shoulders drop again. While he often fought with his sister, it was never serious and he never wished her gone. And now that she was gone, he felt like a big part of him was missing.

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The journey didn't seem so awkward anymore. They even talked now, about a lot of things. Eventually Katara tried again to find out what she was wondering about for the last two days: "Where are we going?"

After a big sigh Zuko answered: "We're following the Avatar's trail. I hope we catch up with him soon. It seems he is headed for the desert."

"Why do you want to capture Aang so badly?"

For the shortest while he contemplated if he should tell her. After a moment, he decided that he would. And he did. He started to tell her everything.

Everything about the war conference, the Agni Kai, the banishment and the only condition he was allowed to return home on.

Katara listened with growing horror.

"I never knew. How could he do that to you? How could a father be this cruel?"

She turned around at that moment, wanting so badly to console him, but didn't know how. So she just placed her hand on his cheek and looked at him sadly.

After a while she dared to ask if Zuko really believed that he would get everything he imagined, once he brought the Avatar to that cruel father of his.

For the longest time he didn't react and Katara started to think that he hadn't heard her, but eventually he spoke up.

"There is a big chance that you are right. I never wanted to acknowledge this, but … …

"You know, you don't have to follow your father's orders, you can make decisions on your own."

"Maybe"

"Soon, Aang needs to learn firebending and for that he needs a teacher …"

"I could NEVER betray my father and country like that!"

That shut her up effectively and they fell into silence once again.

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**I'm well aware that Katara could have used waterbending to get the ****poison out of Zuko, but I'm not so sure if she is that precise and we don't want her to bloodbend all the blood out of our beloved price now, do we?**

**A huge thank you to Appa-Appa-Away, who did a great job to make this chapter so much better.**

**I just realized: I never thanked you for your great advice Avatarlover1. So here it comes: Thanks a lot Avatarlover1, I try to do my best to create sentences that "flow" I think your advice improved my story a lot.**

**And of course a big thanks you to ALL my reviewers! It feels so great to see that you guys like this story.**


	6. Through the Desert on a Horse with no Na

**You should know already: I don't own 'The Avatar' and his 'Gaang'.  
**

**Also, the title of this chapter does not belong to me. It's from the song "Horse with no name" from the band "America" and I just thought it fits this chappy nicely.**

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Chapter 6

**Through the Desert on a horse with no name …**

"First we lost Katara and now Appa got kidnapped! I can't stand it anymore!" Aang was furious, "this is all your fault; we know you had your differences with Katara and you never liked to fly on Appa; you are just happy they are both gone now!"

"You know that's unfair! I couldn't sense the sandbenders until it was too late. Besides I was busy keeping that library from sinking until you guys could make it out alive!"

"We need to get out of this desert now." Sokka tried to be the voice of reason. It felt strange; this was usually Katara's part and now that she wasn't with them he felt the need to cover that up for her, "this information about the solar eclipse will help nobody if we all die here. We have to make it to Ba Sing Se, or this will have all been for nothing."

As he managed to get through to the others, he felt a little pride swell in his chest. Yes, he was a leader; father would be so proud.

On their way, Sokka tried to remember how they had gotten into their recent predicament. When they were searching for Katara, Aang remembered that there was an oasis near by, that he knew from his past experience to be a great place. They had hoped against hope that Katara might had found her way there, but of course, when they reached it, that place was a shabby den and there was no Katara anywhere.

They came upon some strange figures, bandaged even in their faces, who gave them suspicious glances. They hadn't cared then, their only concern having been Katara. By hindsight, Sokka realized they must have been the sandbenders who took Appa; they must have followed them - though how was beyond Sokka. They hadn't seen anybody following them when they where looking for Katara and this library that wired professor had told them about.

They had met him at the bar and when he told them about his quest to find the library to infinite information, Sokka immediately sprung to the conclusion that they would gain valuable knowledge on the Fire nation. They assumed that since Katara could be anywhere, they could search for her and the library at the same time. Of course they hadn't gotten any hint on Katara, but the library had proven to be more than he could have ever imagined and now Sokka held detailed maps and the date for the next solar eclipse in his possession. If only this hadn't cost them Appa ….

_Focus, make a plan, a good one. One that will work and bring the Fire nation to it's knees._

_1. Make it safely to Ba Sing Se._

_2. Talk to the king of the Earth kingdom._

_3. Rail the troops._

_4. Storm the Fire Nation on the Day of the Black Sun._

_5. Defeat the Fire Lord._

_6. End this war._

_Yep, good plan. I sure, hope this works. _

* * *

They got further and further into the desert and it wasn't long before they ran out of water. Soon the cactus plants started to look very tempting. Even though she knew better than to eat some foreign plants, Katara started to wonder if it could be worse than to die of thirst.

It took her a while to convince Zuko to let them try the cactus juice; after all, he had witnessed what some strange plant had done to his uncle. But she had a point; they could try this and might survive, or they could see how much longer they could go without any water. He was told that with good health a person could go without water for a maximum of four days, but he assumed that deep in the desert, they wouldn't have that long.

Zuko took his Duo Swords and sliced one succulent bulb clean off and with another fast movement, divided it in two halves. Offering one half to Katara he ogled the other half suspiciously, sniffed it and then tried the taste by licking his finger after dipping it into the liquid. It wasn't all that bad, but he still waited a little longer just to see if something bad happened to Katara when she drank the liquid right out of the cactus.

He started to take a little sip himself when Katara started acting funny. Laughing like a little kid, she bended the remaining water out of her piece of the cactus, let if flow through the air, forming some interesting shapes in the process and then filled her water skin with it.

Stopping himself from taking any more of that liquid Zuko asked: "Are you feeling well?"

Flashing him a brilliant smile Katara answered laughing "I have never been better!"

Zuko had a bad feeling about this; her eyes were wide and her pupils were diluted. Her voice seemed light and almost dreamy.

When she turned around again, she gave a squeal of delight and started to seemingly talk to herself. "See what I can do now? I became a master water bender, Master Pakku said so himself! He trained me. Mom, I'm so glad you came back!" And with that she moved forward quickly to hug the cactus plant. In the very last moment Zuko grabbed her shoulders from behind, in a desperate attempt to restrain the crazy girl and pulled her away from the dangerous spikes.

"What do you think you are doing there? Are you planning to hurt yourself?"

"Let me go, you jerk! You won't keep me away from my mother!"

"Are you blind? Or have you gone insane? That is NOT your mother; that is a cactus!"

"That's just like you, but I won't let the Fire nation take my mother away from me again!"

She struggled with all her might, scratching, screeching and kicking. Zuko almost lost his hold on her twice, and for a brief moment he wondered if he should just let her go. She would soon enough find out that he was right when hundreds of barbs pierced her skin. Eventually he managed to drag her a few feet away from that direful plant.

While keeping a firm hold on her shoulders, he tried to talk sense into her.

His tongue felt like it was a little too big in his mouth, which made it harder to pronounce all that well. But he guessed that in the state she was in right now, she wouldn't notice.

'_M__aybe the cactus juice wasn't such a good idea after all. Thank goodness I didn't drink much.'_

After what seemed like an eternity she seemed to have forgotten all about her mom, but instead looked with delight at the desert sand.

"Oh, look! The desert has turned into the ocean. How beautiful!"

Zuko frowned at her. Shaking his head he was glad that he stopped himself from taking too much of the cactus juice. As it seemed the little sip didn't turn him into a nut case as it obviously did her. He did feel a little bit dizzy, but he didn't mind, actually he felt better than he had in a long while, more confident.

Letting himself fall backwards into the sand, Zuko watched with amusement as Katara tried to water bend the sand. A wide grin was spreading across his face at her vain attempts to bring the sand to move on her command. This time he didn't bother to tell her what was wrong, even as he saw her irritation grow. After a while her anger turned to despair, "Why can't I do it? Why won't the water obey? I … I lost my ability to bend. Oh no, no, no …"

Her shoulders started shaking as she fought against her tears, loosing rapidly. When the first thick tear slid down her face she broke. Sinking onto her knees, she begun to sob uncontrollably.

That whipped the smirk of Zuko's face.

'_Oh no, please don't cry'_

He didn't know where the need to console the girl came from, but he had to make her stop crying. So he went to her and tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder and wondered what he was supposed to do now. He had never been in a situation like this, never had to console a young, beautiful girl or one that has recently gone insane, nonetheless.

He got to his knees as well and instinctively started to move his hand in slow circles.

'_What would uncle do?'_ he wondered. _'Maybe he would offer soothing words full of cryptic wisdom..._'

Ok, he could skip the wisdom part with the mental state he knew she was in.

"It's ok, everything will be fine. You'll see. Sh, hush now, don't cry.

It's ok, it's ok …"

She didn't fight him or told him to shut up, but didn't seem to calm down ether.

'_What now? What would mother do?'_

Slowly he moved closer to her and took her in his arms so that her head rested on his broad shoulder and resumed stroking her back. She buried her face in his shirt, while her hands went around his waist. When the sobs finally subsided Zuko's shirt was soaking wet, but he didn't notice. He still held the girl close to his chest, moving his hand over her nape and shoulder and wondered about the strange feelings in his stomach.

Suddenly he stiffened as he felt her hands sensually slide up his back and became aware of the pounding of her heart that was accompanied with her slight panting. She drew a little back without letting go and looked deep into his eyes.

"I love you" she whispered.

He gulped, hard. His eyes going wide, he wondered if he heard her correctly. It felt … nice. He would have to tell her that she had no chance with him. He'd have to tell her that he didn't feel that way about her, but that could wait. For now he wanted to savor the feeling of being loved by a beautiful girl.

Maddeningly slow her face neared his; he tried to recoil a little, but she wouldn't have it and pulled him even closer. Shutting her eyes she kissed him straight on his lips. It was chaste, but sweet. He really should tell her to stop; it wasn't fair to the girl. He knew he should, but he wanted to drag it out just a little longer, because it felt so good, she felt so good…

"I wanted to tell you for a long time now," she started again. "You are so brave and cute, I really do love you, Aang."

_'What?!'_

* * *

**See my evil grin, hehe. You didn't honestly think Katara would fall for Zuko this fast? She might not hate him anymore, but there still is a long way for her feelings to turn into love.**

**Please let me know if you liked it.**

**A very huge thank you to Appa-Appa-Away, you helped me big time! And I also want to thank my Anime Dealer and since recently second beta Sven. Your advices were priceless! I send my love to you two.**

**Btw, for those of you who didn't know: The song "A Horse With No Name" is not only describing a trip through the desert, but it's mostly about drug abuse.**


	7. All Through the Night

**Anybody of you know "All Through The Night" from Cindy Lauper? A very nice ballad, that I used this time as my chapter title – again I didn't invent it myself.**

**For anyone who might be interested, you can watch the original video here (just replace the space before and after youtube with a dot): **

de youtube com/watch?vrMBqQlRiOoY&featurerelated

* * *

Chapter 7

**All Through The Night**

Katara closed her eyes and kissed Aang, a sweet, chaste and innocent kiss.

"I love you," she whispered. When she looked up again, she found herself in the embrace of Zuko. His eyes seemed to burn a hole into her with his passion. With his muscular arms he pressed her hard against him. She could feel his broad chest and his rapid heartbeat as it drummed against his ribcage and she idly wondered why she never noticed that he had such a spectacular body.

The kiss they shared was not innocent at all, igniting the fire deep within her. His hands were roaming her body and as if on instinct she opened her lips. Zuko took the invitation and let his tongue invade her mouth. Soon he rained a line of kisses down her jaw and started to nibble on her earlobe and neck. She had never felt anything like this; all her nerve endings were tingling. When he finally gave her some space to catch her breath she was panting hard.

This was bad, this was wrong, but it felt oh so good. She looked up into his eyes and got lost .

"I want you, Katara … I want you so much." His barely concealed lust was written all over his face. It send a bolt of electricity down her spine and right into her womb. A soft moan escaped her when she whispered back: "Oh, Zuko please!"

With an audible gasp she jerked awake.

'_WHAT WAS __**THAT**__?! Did it actually happen? No I don't think so, it was just a dream, just a dream…. HOW COULD I __**EVER **__DREAM SOMETHING __**LIKE THAT**__ ABOUT __**ZUKO**__?!_'

Her heart pounded wildly in her chest and she panted like she had just run a mile at full speed.

Naturally this didn't go unnoticed. Being pulled out of his slumber Zuko asked sleepily:

"What? What happened is there anything wrong?" alarms set off in his brain.

"No, nothing, just a bad dream," Katara replied, her cheeks beet red. She was thankful for the night's darkness that would conceal her state of distress from him.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"NO! No, ah … I … it's ok."

He didn't know what made her so jumpy, but feeling sleep approach him once more he found that he didn't care at all.

* * *

Of course, Katara eluded sleep from this point on. There were too many questions, like what had really happened? It's so not good to find out that you can't remember the least few hours. And having been all this time in the close proximity to your enemy doesn't make it any better…

'_Oh … my … god! Did we actually do the things I dreamed about? Oh no, please no!'_

It had felt all so real and while one half of her brain tried to figure out what was real and what just a dream, the other half painted some horrible scenarios of what might have happened in the last few hours.

Grangran had told her, that the brain progresses what happened during the day over night in her dreams and that some dreams are messages from her subconscious. So, what does that mean?

'_What did that pervert to me?!'_

She couldn't remember much after she had the drink of cactus juice. She remembered feeling fuzzy and for some reason, happy. She remembered her mom ... why on earth would she remember her … here and now?! And the last thing she remembered were Zuko's strong arms holding her from behind.

'_Pah, I knew it! Pervert! And then he took advantage of my state. How could he do that to me?I HATE him. I'll never forgive this.'_

But even as she thought it, there was a little nagging voice inside her head that reminded her that she had kissed him back, and that she had enjoyed it, pretty much.

At some point, she just couldn't take it anymore; something had to happen. She couldn't just lay there and wait for the next morning to come; she had to get away from here – away from the centre of her contemplations.

As silently as she could, Katara rose to her feet. But she had barely taken two steps when a voice stopped her.

"Where do you think you are going?!"

'_Oh, no! Think fast Katara!'_

"I … I have to relieve myself."

Now that she thought about it, it wasn't even a lie.

"Oh … of course. But don't go too far; you don't want to get lost here in the desert."

* * *

When she didn't show up after fifteen minutes Zuko started to worry, and after five more, he mounted the ostrich-horse and headed in the direction he had last seen his bait for the Avatar.

'_Some bait she is, half a week now, and still no sight of that little brat. Isn't he supposed to come and search for his friend? Why did I take her with me? All she does is slow me down and consume MY supplies. __We need to find clear water soon, or else … and now she keeps me from my sleep and has me wondering where she'd run off to. Stupid girl!'_

His mind wandered back to the kiss she'd given him the day before and he got even angrier with her.

While he intellectually knew that Katara must have still been under the influence of the baneful cactus juice when she had kissed him and had said that she loved him, whilst confusing him with the Avatar. It still stung – not that he wanted her in any way – but it did bruise his male pride, a lot.

He wondered how far she might have gotten and why she chose to run awayNOW_. _They were in the middle of nowhere for crying out loud!

'_Maybe she is still intoxicated?_'

That thought brought an uneasy feeling to his stomach. He started to visualize what could happen to her: she could simply get lost or be attacked by an animal. He had heard tales of despiteful Sandbenders that live in the desert, and he didn't want to find out what they might do to her. And she could always have gone through with her antics and might be pinned to a cactus right now. He couldn't help but smirk at that thought.

Finally, he saw a lone figure trudging through the desert sand somewhat ahead of him. In no time, he was beside Katara. He halted the ostrich-horse and jumped directly in front of the startled girl. With a strangled cry she slapped him on the chest and tried to get away from Zuko once more. Gripping her arms tightly he snarled dangerously, "Not so fast, Missy! You didn't honestly think I just let you wander off like that?!"

"Let me go, you pervert!" Katara struggled with all her strength to get free again, but found that his hands were like vices that wouldn't bulge one bit.

"Who are you calling a pervert?!" he couldn't believe she just called him that.

"Who do you think? The one that had the nerve to take advantage of an inebriated, defenceless girl." she spat, as she blinked back the angry tears that threatened to fall.

"You dare tell me that I took advantage of you?! You were the one that threw herself at me, remember? I can't believe this."

"I would **never** have done that!" Katara screamed, hoping and praying that what she was telling was true.

After some calming breath, Zuko hissed through clenched teeth, "Whatever, get on the ostrich-horse now. If we start immediately, we'll reach an oasis at about noon."

* * *

**Did you ever have a dream that felt so real, that when you woke up in the morning, you just couldn't shake it off? One morning I almost bit my hubby's head off, because I dreamed that he had betrayed me and it was all so vivid … He is still alive, and we are still married, in case you had wondered ;o)**


	8. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

**Hey guys, you are amazing! I never thought I'd get this much support 49 reviews already, I'm completely exhilarated. Thank you all so much.**

**Anyone who guesses where I got my idea for the chapter's title this time, gets a cookie.**

* * *

Chapter 8

**Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea**

The awkwardness was back with a vengeance. It was worse than before. Now she was aware of his muscular chest behind her and the strong arms circling her weren't helping ether.

Her thoughts went constantly back to her dream and she kept wondering how much of it was real. If only she could remember…

'_That__ settles it; I'll never drink cactus juice again, ever! I'd rather die of thirst!'_

His thoughts weren't any better, with the small opportunity, that he was very well aware of what had happened. Only, he wished he wasn't. Repeatedly, he heard her calling him Aang in his mind. That had been a serious mood breaker. He tried to tell himself that it was for the best; who knows where that would have lead to … with this peasant. But every time, he would come to the conclusion, that everything would be better than to be confused with a twelve year old bald monk, which happens to be his worst enemy. He was sure he would get nightmares about that one day.

When the sun was at its highest they were almost in a delirium, AGAIN. But this time it was not only from the relentless sun and the life threatening thirst, but mostly because of their thoughts having gone in circles for hours. Just a little longer and they would reach the oasis. Katara was imagining what she would do to Zuko, once she had a big pool of water at her disposal, in full colour. He would pay, for EVERYTHING!

When she had fought against him at the North Pole she was desperate; desperate to keep Aang save. But NOW SHE WAS MAD! Nothing would hold her back now; he wouldn't know what hit him. Ok maybe he would, but still …

'_Does he know what he is getting himself into, bringing us to an oasis? Is he planning his counter attack right now?'_

* * *

But when they reached the place, it was nothing like she expected. There was no pool, no flowing water, nothing; just a seedy bar with ominous looking customers.

_'Why is this called an oasis?!'_

They went inside and ordered drinks, at least this was refreshing. Katara felt instantly better as the cool liquid ran down her sore throat.

An hour later, they had spent all of their money on drinks. Looking over at Katara, Zuko felt a great idea rush into him; finally he could gain profit from the girl at his side. He went into negotiation with the owner of the bar and after a few minutes of hard bargaining they agreed on five coins an hour.

To say Katara wasn't happy to hear what the men had agreed to behind her back was the understatement of the year, but in the end she yielded.

"So, what do I have to do?"

When she was told, she nearly backed out again. Extremely irked, she left the room with the foreign man. A few minutes later she re-emerged and Zuko almost fell off his chair. With eyes as big as saucers and his jaw hitting the desk he stared at Katara as if seeing her for the first time, and in a way it was. She was wearing some skimpy dress that showed off her womanly curves nicely, something fancy had been done to her hair but he couldn't pinpoint just what and a fine layer of make up gave her an exotic look.

With hesitant, uncertain steps, she entered an area that could be called a stage, the soft music that was played by some musicians the whole time changed its tune and Katara started to sing. The whole room went silent, all eyes on the beautiful girl with the haunting voice. Soon, she lost all her nervousness and when she felt even bolder, she started to move sensually to the music. Katara enthralled everyone in the room and she started to enjoy the power she seemed to have over the men.

Zuko shook himself out of the stupor and started a light conversation with some of the bystanders, trying to get some information on the whereabouts of the Avatar without looking suspicious or sending someone new on his trail too. He really didn't need to worry about that, since nobody took too much notice of him or their conversation as long as Katara was on stage and soon he got all the information he wanted. A group that fitted the description had been here not long ago; they were in search for a Water Tribe girl. They had left shortly after that in the company of some weird explorer to go find a long lost library somewhere in the desert. The direction they were headed was north east; so that's where he and Katara would go next. But first, they had to rest and get lots of water and food for their long journey through the merciless desert.

A new bargain was made; Katara would keep her position as chorus girl while Zuko helped out as a bartender for the next three hours and in the morning they would clean the bar and as a payment, they'll get dinner, a room for the night and breakfast after they were done with the cleaning plus all the water and food Zuko had requested for their journey. It seemed fair enough.

* * *

They were fairly exhausted when they reached their room, only to discover that it contained only on small bed. Without second thought Zuko let himself fall into it, letting out a deep sigh.

"Oh no! That bed belongs to me; I worked hard for this!"

"And so did I, but I feel generous today, you may use it too if you want."

"Yeah, thank you so much. … So get up already!"

"No, I won't! I meant we could share this, but if you'd rather sleep on the floor, be my guest."

Katara fumed, but she was far too tired to put up a big fight, so she swallowed her pride and laid herself next to him.

"Turn around!" she ordered, scooting as far away from him as the small bed would allow, turning herself onto her side, so she would face away from him.

The first thing she realized when she woke up though was the strong arm, which was draped over her back, and the next how she herself was entangled with another body. Her head was nestled neatly on Zuko's chest, as was her arm while her right leg had found its way between Zuko's. This sudden awareness woke her fully in an instant, which in return woke Zuko. Embarrassed beyond reason they untangled quickly and it went without saying that this didn't happen and wasn't to be mentioned ever again.

The remaining job was completed in silence as was their breakfast. After they had packed their fresh supplies onto the ostrich-horse they said their goodbyes and headed off into the direction Zuko supposed they would find the Avatar.

* * *

"You were awesome last night. I never knew you have such a lovely voice."

Katara didn't know if she should feel flattered or embarrassed, but decided to play it cool.

"But the next time you plan something like that, it will be you who gets to wear the skimpy skirt and make a complete fool out of himself."

He only snickered at that; a rare sound Katara found she oddly liked. She remembered that, this time yesterday, she was extremely mad at Zuko and while she hadn't forgiven him just yet, she didn't want to ruin the nice day and the peaceful mood.

They had travelled for hours and made good progress, when suddenly the ostrich-horse stopped so abruptly that Katara and Zuko went flying over its head and through the air. On instinct, Zuko wrapped his arms around Katara securely and managed to turn his body with the fall in a way that she wouldn't get hurt, only to regret his actions when he hit the ground. Pain shot up his back and he wondered idly what he was doing; as fast as could be, he withdrew his hands from the shocked girl. A look to the ostrich-horse told Zuko that this must be the work of the Sandbenders he had heard about – the feet of their animal were contained in cuffs of sand. They were surrounded by men wrapped in what looked like bandages, who seemed to have been coming out of nowhere.

* * *

**You think they are a little OOC? I guess you are right, but I don't care, I wanted some fun, before the action starts. Did you like it?  
**

**As always lots of thanx to my wonderful betas Appa-Appa-Away and Sven.**


	9. Get Rid of the Demon that darkens your S

**Sorry guys that I'm so late this time, but I had a slight case of writers block and wasn't sure if I could make an update at all this week. You all should thank Appa-Appa-Away for her constant support and encouragement, which helped me a lot to get out of my block. The best way to do so would be, if you go and leave a nice review for her stories after reading them.**

**I need to say that (again) I stole a little dialogue from the show at the beginning of this chapter, hopefully nobody minds.**

Chapter 9

**Get rid of the demon that darkens your sun**

"Ow! Crud! I am so sick of not feeling where I'm going! And what idiot buried a boat in the middle of the desert?" Toph whined, while sitting in the sand and rubbing her right foot.

Aang and Sokka looked at her, strangely, and finally, Aang managed to say, "Toph, I'm sorry, but there is no boat."

"Believe me, I kicked it hard enough to feel plenty of vibrations, "Toph assured.

Aang stepped forward and regarded the little triangular shaped object closely. He took his staff and with one swift movement, he blew away the sand around the little object. Only now it didn't seem to be so little at all. What they had stumbled upon was a sand glider the Sandbenders used to move quickly through the desert sand.

A short inspection told them that it was still mostly intact and they tried to use it. Setting the sails, Aang exerted his Airbending and they started to move.

With their new transportation, they moved rather quickly and soon, they reached the end of the desert to find a big lake.

"Katara would love this!" Aang commented wistfully.

Letting out a deep sigh, Sokka imagined his sister, how she would dive into the cooling water with a squeal of joy. Later, she would practice Waterbending with Aang. He never thought he would miss the sight of her practicing her bending.

"Maybe you should practice your Waterbending now," Sokka advised.

"I can't do it, not without Katara …"

"Just give it a try, Twinkletoes. This pool is perfect; not too deep either."

"Why should I try to learn Waterbending on my own? It doesn't feel right."

"Because Katara would want you to," Toph said, cheerless using the other girls name for once.

"And if she really is in the Fire Nation, we will find her and once we defeated the Fire Lord, we will free her," Sokka vowed.

_'I wonder what she's doing right now. I just hope she's all right. Oh please, let her be ok!'_

_oOo_

Jumping to his feet, Zuko went into a fighting stance, while he surveyed his opponents. The most important thing seemed to be that these Sandbenders could very well immobilize his feet; he mustn't let that happen. He shot fire blasts right at their heads – one of his favourite moves, with which he usually manages to drive his opponents back without actually hurting someone.

This gave Katara enough time to get up as well and uncork the water bottles. She loaded her arms with a good portion of the water and started to lash out at the nearest foe.

Having never before encountered a Waterbender, the attacker didn't know what hit him and he stumbled back a few paces. But he recovered quickly and this time, he was prepared. He created a big sand wave and sent it towards Katara.

The sand mingled with her water and dragged it down and into the sand.

Coughing and slightly blinded by the dust. Katara tried to bend the water back to her hands, but a big amount was lost due to the hot sand and air.

Without her noticing, another Sandbender had snuck up behind Katara and threw a bag filled with sand at her. With a yelp Katara went down and before she could get up again, one of the Sandbenders had encased her hands in the sand.

A few feet away, Zuko struggled with the other Sandbenders, always alert to their special abilities; he threw blast after blast at them, but so far, he wasn't achieving anything.

When he noticed Katara going down, he swore slightly under his breath. He had to come up with something or they would be lost.

Zuko unleashed a torrent of flames towards his opponents and did a somersault to land behind the one holding Katara captive. With a swift movement, he drew his swords to place them around the man's neck.

"Release her, immediately!" he demanded.

Immediately, he let go of the sand that held Katara's limbs. With big scared eyes, she stared at the sharp swords, asking herself if Zuko was the type of guy who would actually kill somebody with his own hands.

"Oh please, don't," Katara let out.

It was merely a whisper, but it distracted Zuko enough that the Sandbender he held could break free again.

Sensing Katara's discomfort about him using the swords in battle Zuko put them back into the sheath. Instead, he balled his fists and shot a volley of flames at the benders surrounding them, trying to force them back again, while Katara once again loaded herself up with water from their bottles.

When the next Sandbender tried to use his bag of sand on a rope, Katara was prepared; as the rope wrapped itself around Zuko's neck, it was sliced in half, with a little portion of water that was as sharp as a knife, and fell, useless, to the ground.

"Thanks!"

"You're welcome."

Soon, they were fighting back to back, not giving their opponents another chance to get at them from behind. Using water and fire whips, they lashed out at their foes, while the Sandbenders used waves of sand to temporary blind the pair and brought the ground underneath them to shake, trying to throw them off balance. They were trading blows back and forth and slowly they were getting tired.

Finally Zuko remembered his uncle's words, hearing him as if he stood right beside him.

_"Basics, Zuko! Break his root!"_

"Turn with me," he shouted.

Conjuring up the last of his strength, he sent an extra fierce blast of fire at the feet of the Sandbender in front of him. Turning in a circle, he shot it at all of them, burning their feet effectively in the process. They fell on their backs, yelping in pain. Without their feet, they had lost a big part of their bending abilities.

Now that they were slightly subdued, Katara didn't need all her power just to defend herself. She used the last of their water to freeze the men to the ground, immobilizing them completely.

"Are you glad now, that I insisted we get ourselves a job so we could buy a lot of water?" Katara joked.

Looking strangely at Katara Zuko warned, "Let's get away from here fast; the ice will melt quickly in this heat."

They mounted their Ostrich-horse and hurried away.

**I hope you all liked it. Please tell me what you think about my very first fight scene.**

**And last not least, another big thanks to my wonderful beta readers.**


	10. Sugar Water

**Obviously the creators of the show**** "Avatar the last Airbender" are Kataangers, so it can't be me. Sorry guys, I really wish it was different …**

**As you might have noticed by now, I love to use ****song titles to name my chapters. This time the title is from a very enthralling song from Cibo Matto. I played with the idea of making it the title of the last chapter, telling you to check it out and imagine Katara singing this song in the bar, but decided against it. You should still listen to it, it's great; and I still envision Katara swaying to this song, while singing the lyrics. Just go to youtube and search for "sugar water". **

**But that's not the reason I decided to take this as the title's name. I think it really fits the content of this chapter, but if you think otherwise, let me know.**

**Sugar Water**

Chapter 10

Aang knew his friends were right. He needed to focus on getting Katara back and not on the hurt it caused that she was gone. He turned his back to what was left of his little group and went to a secluded spot where he wouldn't hear the others or would be otherwise distracted. He sunk to his knees and sighed heavily. Then he took the lotus position and started to meditate, trying to rid himself of all feelings.

A few minutes later he went back to his friends, a determined look on his face. Without a word he started his Waterbending training. If Sokka or Toph thought his behaviour to be strange they didn't tell; they were relieved that he was starting to take on his responsibilities as the Avatar again. They wouldn't interrupt him or bring him off his track again with stupid questions.

After a full hour of concentrated Waterbending training, he turned to Toph, "Now it's your turn to teach me, Sifu Toph." He bowed slightly, but said no more.

Wary of how to deal with him, Toph tried to keep in mind the advice Katara had given her once. She knew he was still unstable and she wanted to build him up, not tear him down completely. So for once, she tried to be all nice and understanding.

It was well past midday when they stopped their training. Sokka had made himself useful with catching some fish and preparing dinner. They ate their meal in companionable silence, well for Aang and Toph it was companionable, for Sokka it was plain voracious.

Before they finished their well earned meal, the silence was disrupted by yells and big clouds of sand.

"Hey, stop that, I'm still eating!" was all Sokka had to say about it, while Aang and Toph took on their fighting stances.

When the dust settled the leader of the Sandbenders stepped forward and demanded to know what this group of strangers was doing with property of the Sandbender tribe, indicating towards the glider the group had used to move through the desert quickly.

"I know that voice," Toph whispered to Aang, "this is the guy who took Appa."

"You sure, Toph?"

"I never forget a voice," she assured.

While he just vowed to feel nothing any more, at least until he found Katara again, this was just too much for Aang to take. Releasing his anger on the nearest sand glider, which burst into a million pieces, he demanded to know where Appa was. When he didn't get an answer right away he destroyed the second glider with seemingly no effort.

Seeing the anger on the young boy's face the leader told the group what they wanted to know. But learning that Appa had been muzzled and sold to a group of circus artists to do some fancy tricks in the city of Ba Sing Se did nothing to sooth Aang's anger. If anything it served to make him even angrier. His tattoos started to glow and he lifted from the ground. Seeing this and knowing what that meant, Sokka took Toph's hand and rushed to a safe distance with her.

The Sandbenders weren't dumb either. They had witnessed what the boy just did to their gliders and they realized his anger had just taken on a new level. Deciding that this wasn't worth their efforts or the life of one of their companions; they bended themselves into the sand, just out of view and hurried out of the way unseen.

Realizing his target had eluded him the Avatar slammed his staff into the desert sand angrily, creating a giant mushroom in the process.

Once Aang had calmed down again, they resumed their way to Ba Sing Se with renewed determination. They had to bring the King of the Earth Kingdom the revelation how to bring down the Fire Nation, but most important, they had to find Appa, and the chances were good that they might find him in there.

oOo

They didn't dare to take a break for hours. They were exhausted, hungry and thirsty, but they kept moving forward, further and further away from the dangerous Sandbenders. When the sun was low on the horizon, they saw what looked like a giant mushroom, arise in the distance. But it soon faded to nothing and as they came closer Katara thought she saw a big lake ahead of them, but afraid it might just be some sort of Fata Morgana, she didn't dare to hope.

Soon they reached the shore and Katara could feel the pull of her element, it was real! She leaped off the worn out ostrich-horse and ran straight into the water. Tears of joy streamed down her cheeks as her feet touched the cool wetness. Without thinking she stripped down to her underwear and plunged her whole body into the sea.

Zuko stood aside watching, fascinated by the joyful girl splashing in the water, his jaw slightly slack. He tried to remember if he had ever seen her as happy or relaxed, but couldn't come up with any occasion. Before this adventure, she was always fighting him, concentrated and angry; it was just the way things were. And on the journey they are right now, there hadn't been much to feel happy about. He realized that she looked even more beautiful when she laughed.

"Come in here, the water is fantastic!"

'_Oh oh__, now she looks at me; she must have caught me staring. Why did I have to stare at her? Stupid! Argh, does she know her underwear go slightly see-through when they get wet?'_

Blushing fiercely, Zuko turned away, pretending to busy himself with their supplies which were still attached to the Ostrich-horse's saddle.

"Hey, you can do that later, you know! The sun will go down soon and it will be too cold for bathing."

She had a point. The desert sun and their battle with the Sandbenders made him sweat like a Hog-monkey and now he was itching all over from the dried sweat mingled with desert sand. But could he really go into the water now, when she was in there?! Turning an even darker shade of red he considered taking off his own clothes in front of the girl.

'_Get a gr__ip on yourself! You are royalty; you are above this and you have faced worse. – But that was different …'_

Letting out a deep sigh Zuko made up his mind. He stripped quickly while trying not to appear embarrassed, but his fears seemed to be for nothing, since Katara didn't notice any of it. Taking a first tentative step into the water he noticed that it wasn't as warm as he expected it to be, but it wasn't too cold either.

"Ah, there you are. Doesn't this feel fantastic after the days in the blistering heat?"

Gulping down a big lump that suddenly appeared in his throat, all he managed to croak out was "Yeah, right." Embarrassed again, he jumped head first into the deeper part of the lake, mostly to escape the situation and to cool his flaming face.

She was right; the water had already washed away all the dirt and sweat, leaving a feeling of freshness that he hadn't felt in days. This truly felt fantastic; he should do this more often. So engrossed in the new sensation, he noticed the evil glint in Katara's eyes too late to defend himself. A big wave came crushing over his head.

"You'll pay for that!" he snarled playfully at her.

"Ha, first you'll have to get me," Katara taunted.

He tried to race after the girl, which proved to be a difficult task; the water was clearly on her side. Every time he thought he had her now, she evaded his grasp, splashing more water into his face every now and then. His previous animosities were forgotten; he felt light-hearted like never before in his life.

Finally he dove beneath the water and got her by one foot. Pulling hard, he pulled Katara under water too, but just shortly. Kicking out with her other foot she hit him square in the stomach. Releasing her immediately, he came up and groaned, "Ow, that wasn't nice. Now you'll get it for real, peasant!"

Biting his lip, he tried to look menacing, but his eyes were still laughing, betraying his real intentions. Letting out a playful squeal, Katara hurried away once again.

"Oh no, the big bad prince of the Fire Nation is after me! Who will come to my rescue now?"

She hadn't paid too much attention to the object of her mockery and yelped in real surprise when he suddenly grabbed her shoulders, kicked out her legs under her and plunged her under the surface of the water. This time around he was very aware of her kicking and he managed to avoid getting kicked again. He held her underneath the water, for at least half a minute, before he let go of her again.

When Katara came up again, she sputtered only half joking this time, "That cries for revenge, be aware mister!" And with that she launched herself at the laughing boy.

It had seemed to be so easy when he had done it to her, so unavoidable to go down, but now that she tried the same trick on him, it didn't work.

'_Damn, I'm a master Waterbender, why can't I do this?!'_

His stance was solid and he wouldn't bulge one bit, eventually he turned and plunged her down again, not holding her down this time. She dove beneath him kicking him in the hollow of his knee, forcing him to loose his stance for once and then pulled him down to her. Grabbing his shoulders she tried to bring him down even more. He tried to swat her hands away, which was not so easy under water. The melee was short lived as they both had to come up again to catch their breaths. Panting hard, they stared into each others eyes, still holding onto one another.

**What will happen next? Guess you just have to keep on reading.**

**Did you like it, or was it too sappy? Please let me know.**

**Appa-Appa-Away, as always you did a great job at scratching out my mistakes, thanx.**

**A big thank you to all my faithful reviewers****! It feels so good to see that there are people out there who actually like what I write. But I'm open to criticism too.**


	11. Oh no, this is bad

**Reviews are very good for my inspiration as it seems. I couldn't stop writing, so you get this chapter sooner as usual. I was a little unsure if the contents of this chapter are still suitable for T rating, please consider it bordering to M and if you are unsure if you should read it, or it seems to get too much for you, just send me a personal message over my profile page and I try do give you a more harmless version. I hope you don't hate me for this.**

Chapter 11

**Oh no, this is bad …**

Inching forward they could practically feel the kiss that seemed inevitable, when Katara suddenly exclaimed, "Do you want some fish for dinner? Because then we need to catch some."

The spell was broken, the moment lost, but still Zuko had his problems to regain his composure. He knew he shouldn't feel this way for this little peasant, but he didn't know how to switch his feelings off like that. Fascinated, he watched how she used her Waterbending to catch what soon would be their dinner. And it was a mixture of appreciation and sheer horror with which he noticed how she never needed a knife, using bended water instead to slice the fish open.

'_Good thing she never used that on me! But … come to think of it, why didn't__ she? She is pretty strong; I've known that at least since our encounter at the North Pole. She could have taken me on anytime .. why hadn't she?'_

_---_

They ate their dinner in silence, both contemplating the recent turn of events.

'_We almost kissed. I can't believe it, I almost kissed Pri__nce Zuko! _

_What's wrong with me?!_

_But to be fair, he wasn't all bad the last few days._

_But he is still Zuko, "our worst enemy Zuko", who used to chase us around the world! I can't go and kiss the enemy! What was I thinking?! Nothing, obviously!_

_If only he would stop chasing Aang. __He would be such a nice guy, if only he was on our side …'_

'_As scary as she can be as an opponent, to have her fight at my side felt pretty good._

_And playing in the water was a lot of fun too. I can't r__emember the last time I had that much fun._

_But then we almost kissed. Wow, for a moment there she wanted it too, I'm sure of it. ME, not the Avatar, I wonder how it would have felt …'_

Noticing her sad expression, he asked gently, "Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong; I was just thinking."

"What are you thinking about, you look so sad?"

Remembering his reaction the last time she suggested he could join their group, she decided not to bring it up again. She also couldn't tell him that she had thought about their almost kiss, so she lied instead, "I miss my friends; I wonder what they are doing right now."

It wasn't a complete lie; at the back of her mind she always wondered how the others were doing.

"Oh … I see … mm I bet we'll catch up with them soon."

'_Right, that's going to reassure her, hearing this out of MY mouth, knowing why it is I want to find them.'_

Letting out a big sigh, he added, "I'm sue they are fine. Your little group always made it through in the end."

'_He is trying__ so hard to make me feel better, that's so sweet.'_

She tried to smile, but it wouldn't reach her eyes.

Before she could find a suitable reply they both were encased in sand, unable to move. The leader of the Sandbenders was towering above them and with hatred in his eyes droned, "You didn't honestly think you could get away with what you did to us?!"

oOo

Soon they were tied with sturdy ropes by their hands and feet and brought to the Sandbender's headquarters, where they were roughly thrown into what looked like cages for animals.

When they were left alone, Katara asked frightened, "What do you think they are going to do to us?"

"I'm not sure if they figured out who I am. If not, they most likely sell us off as slaves. But furious as these men are right now, they might want to torture us first."

Katara shivered at that, "What if they know who you are?"

"If they recognised me, they'll try to get the bounty that is set upon my head … from the Fire Lord."

"But … that's … that's your father!"

"Yeah," ashamed, Zuko lowered his head.

When he wouldn't go further into detail, Katara tried to dig a little deeper, "Why did your father set a bounty for your head?"

"He considers me a failure and wants to lock me up so I could no longer embarrass him." Zuko's voice was hoarse as he repeated the words Azula had used to mock him not so long ago.

'_The Fire Lord is the worst father ever! _

_All things considered, Zuko could have turned out so much worse …_

_I wonder what keeps him sane.__'_

Nothing of this she dared to say out loud, so she asked instead, "Do you already have an escape plan?"

"No, not yet. What about you, any ideas?"

Sadly she shook her head no.

oOo

Sokka stared solemnly at the full moon, thinking about all the people he lost – his mother, his father in a way, Katara and most of all, Yue.

He had to make sure that he wouldn't loose anybody else he loved; he had to protect Suki at all costs. Even though she had just accused him to be overprotective and told him that she could take care of herself, he knew he couldn't bear it to see her get hurt. That was one reason he had stopped the kiss, to protect himself, but even more so, how could he kiss another girl, when Yue was watching him?!

Life sucked; they could very well be on the other side of the sea with the ferry. With Toph's passport they had gotten four tickets easily, they even could have brought Momo along, but no, Aang had decided to help this family they barely knew instead and now they had to take the Serpents Pass, which is known to be very dangerous. If this will cost them the loss of another group member, he'd never forgive Aang.

_'Oh Yue, please watch over Katara. And help us to meet her again soon.'_

_oOo  
_

Two hours they were left in their cages to contemplate their situation before their captors showed their faces again; they wished they hadn't.

"We just send a message to the Fire Nation, that we got you, EX-prince Zuko," the man sneered.

_'Oh no, they know!'_ they thought in unison, imagining what might await him once he reached his 'home'.

"But before the ship arrives to take you back, we are going to have a little fun with you ..." another man added cruelly

With growing horror, Katara watched as Zuko was roughly dragged out of his cell and, threatened with his own swords, was forced into a kneeling position. Zuko's shirt was ripped off and one man started to punch him with a nine straps whip mercilessly. Katara hadn't got too much time to worry about her companion as another man focused onto her.

"And you! I just remember how you thought you could hurt me, but now it will be me hurting you!"

He opened her cage and closed his big burly hand around her throat. Gripping her tightly he pulled her out of the cell. As she stood before him he used his other hand to punch her hard into her stomach causing her to double over. This in return had the effect that she almost choked, because of the unyielding iron like grip the man kept around her throat.

Quickly, she straightened her posture, looking fearfully at her tormentor, which seemed to fill him with morbid glee.

"Without your water you are not so strong, huh?! Bend this!" he mocked her, spitting her right in the face. As his salvia dripped down her cheek he continued cruelly, "We'll get a fine amount of moola for you down in Ba Sing Se. You see, there is this brothel where they sell every service you can think of and then some – you'll be a nice addition there. Too bad the chief had made a special deal for you to be delivered 'untouched', or else …" he left the sentence hanging in the air, but the leer he gave her sent shivers down her spine and not in a good way.

"But it was said that we'll all have a go at you after you had your _initiation_ with the highest bidder."

His words made Katara's stomach clench, more than his punch had, bile rising in her throat and for a moment she played with the thought to vomit right into the man's face, but thought better of it – who knew what he would do to her if she actually did that.

Suddenly he yanked on her hair, hard, forcing her head back and started to lick her collar and face. Now she needed all her willpower not to vomit for real. When he finally released her hair, the crudely man felt Katara up in places she'd rather not be touched, least at all by a sleazy slug like him. Eventually he was done with her and shoved her roughly back into her cage.

In the other part of the room, Zuko was still been punished. While it hurt like hell, he tried his best to keep his dignity. Suppressing the groan that came with every hit of the whip as much as possible, he never gave the other man the satisfaction of crying out loud in pain, or breaking down.

When the merciless man finally stopped, Zuko's back was one bloody mess. At this point Zuko was barely conscious, but he noticed Katara sitting in her cell with a distant look in her eyes, teetering back and forth.

'_She's gone catatonic! I have never seen her like this._

_What have these bastards done to you?!"_

Those were his last coherent thoughts before everything went black.

---

**Ok, I know you all waited for a kiss, but it's too soon, still. But they acknowledged their feelings for the first time so there is progress, right?**

**And yes I feel very sad that I had to put our favourite pair through all that pain, but it had to be done. Did you ever wonder why a bad guy should stop chasing the heroes, only because it is the end of the episode? They were still in the range of the Sandbenders and they were careless, for that they had to pay the price. But I promise that this all was necessary and will lead to something very good.**

**Oh and just so you know – the whole time Katara stayed fully dressed, the guy didn't even lift a single layer of clothing …**

**So, please tell me, do you hate me now or did like it? Please don't hate me.**


	12. Crossing Over

**First of all, a huge thank you to my wonderful beta reader Appa-Appa-Away and Sven, you are the best! When you are done with this chapter (including the review) you should all go and read & review Appa's stories.**

**And secondly a shout out to all my wonderful reviewers! To see that you like this story so much, to read what you think about it and what you want to happen is very inspiring; without you I might very well have ended this little story already.**

**Someone suggested it would have been good if Katara got roughed up more so Zuko would worry more and get angrier. I bet the evil Sandbender would have loved to do that, but frankly, he wasn't allowed to. They wanted to sell her, so no visible damage was to be done to her, it would have reduced her price. And while it would have been interesting to see Zuko all furious, loose control and be merciless with the bad guys and Katara getting scared of him again, I have other plans with them, sorry. I hope you like it anyways.  
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Chapter 12

**Crossing Over**

Deep in the night, a lone figure crept unseen and unheard through the Sandbender's camp. The first audible noise came from the person sneaking about, as the full moon illuminated the room he just entered; giving him a clear view of the person lying on the ground of a not too big cage, covered in his own blood.

'_Oh no,__ Zuko, my poor boy, I should have come here sooner!'_

If Zuko had been awake to witness what his uncle was doing, he would have wondered when and where exactly he had learned to open sturdy locks with the ease of a talented thief. The old general tried to wake up his nephew first, but Zuko stayed unconscious. He was more successful with Katara, who almost screamed out loud from shock, but soon realized that the friendly old man was here to help them.

When Iroh started to sling Zuko carefully over his shoulder, Katara laid a hand on his arm to stop him and ask for some water. His first impulse was to tell her to wait until they made it out of the camp safely, but seeing the state they were in, Iroh could very well imagine that she was in dire need of a drink.

But instead of drinking the precious liquid she bended it to glowing gloves around her hands and started to heal Zuko's back. Looking grateful at the young girl, he noticed two big tears that slowly made their way down her cheeks as she realized the full extend of the damage that had been done to her patient.

Before she was fully done with the healing, Zuko slowly regained consciousness. The last thing he remembered was a world of pain, but now he woke up to a cool, soothing sensation on his back. And when he opened his eyes he thought he must be dreaming.

"Uncle?" he whispered hoarsely.

"I'll explain everything, but first we have to get out of here."

"But … my swords and the Ostrich-horse … we have to find them …"

'_And my mask of the blue spirit'_

"Oh prince Zuko, do you really wish to alert the people in this camp to your escape? We can get you new swords anytime."

Remembering what they had just been through and what would lie ahead of them if they got caught again; Zuko realized that some weapon and a costume just weren't worth it. Wordlessly, he followed his uncle out of the camp.

On their way Zuko and Iroh did a lot of catching up, while Katara stayed a little behind to give them some privacy. Still shocked about the things that had been done to them a few hours ago, she shivered, unable to get warm again. She was used to cold, having lived most of her life at the South Pole, so the chilly night air in the desert usually wasn't something that could bother her, but this time the cold came from within herself.

Katara looked behind to see any signs that they were being followed ever so often, but so far everything seemed to be quiet and peaceful. If these monsters found them again, they were goners; she was sure of it. She didn't want to contemplate what they would do to them or what she already had to endure, but she found that she just couldn't shake it off. Her thoughts kept circling around it, her stomach clenched in a tight knot, her heart racing at an unhealthy speed.

* * *

By daybreak they reached a secluded haven. Every few minutes a big ferry left the shore to bring people, most of them refugees, to the other side of the sea. Taking a deep breath and feeling a little save for the first time in hours; Katara noticed that Iroh must have given Zuko a new shirt. She hadn't noticed it before, had they stopped for him to get dressed properly? Not that she'd remember; she had been so caught up in her own thoughts she hadn't registered anything else.

They wove their way through a big crowd of all kinds of people to reach a desk with a very grumpy looking elderly lady looking down at them. Iroh smiled winningly at her and placed three passports onto the desk.

"If you would be so kind, we need three tickets to Ba Sing Se, one for my nephew Lee, one for his beautiful wife Fang and one for me."

_WIFE?!_

Simultaneous Katara's and Zuko's eyebrows shot up to their hairlines, the eyes as big as saucers and a slight blush tinted their cheeks. The morose woman gave the little group one more condescending look, but gave out the tickets anyway. Soon they entered the ferry that would bring them to the Earth Kingdom capital.

Katara watched anxiously as their little boat left the shore; so far she hadn't seen any of the Sandbenders. Could it be that this time they really made it? – She sure hoped it. She left Zuko and Iroh, who stood on deck, enjoying the view, to go and find the bathroom.

After some asking around she finally found a very small, smelly and ill lit coop that passed as the only bathroom this ferry had to offer. She stepped inside, locked the door and started to wash her face over and over again, feeling immensely dirty from the Sandbender's salvia and touch. Eventually she stopped her ministrations and looked into the milky, dull mirror; the haunted look that stared back at her startled her a little and she tried to force a smile onto her face. But before she could practice it to perfection, somebody pounded heavily on the door, demanding entrance.

Heart pounding heavily in her chest as fear threatened to take her over; she loaded herself up on water, prepared for any attack that might come and opened the door. A middle-aged woman stormed inside, her young daughter in tow, giving Katara a blistering glare she urged her kid to hold on just a little longer. Realizing her mistake Katara quickly let the water flow back into the basin and left the room feeling fairly embarrassed.

* * *

As she made it back on deck, she didn't know if she should get angry or burst out laughing at the sight that greeted her. Standing at the rail with his back turned to her was Jet, talking animated and seemingly friendly with Zuko. Silently she went over to them to hear what they were talking about.

"You want to help us "liberate" some food?"

"I'm in."

"What are you planning this time, Jet?!"

"Katara! What a coincidence, what are YOU doing here?"

"What could I possibly want on this ferry, let's see, …" she gave the appearance to contemplate her answer, "I bought a ticket to Ba Sing Se … guess I'm on my way to the moon then!" she ended her sentence harshly, "and YOU haven't answered MY question yet,

WHAT. DO . YOU. PLAN. TO. DO?!"

Confused, Zuko watched the display, wondering how they knew each other and what Jet might have done that got Katara so mad at him. Narrowing his eyes in askance, he looked over the boy at his side _'Had this guy once been her boyfriend?'_

The thought brought a surge of jealousy and as Jet lay his hand on Katara's shoulder in an attempt to calm her down Zuko saw red and something inside of him snapped. Laying his arm around Katara's shoulder in a protective manner he demanded

"Take your hands off my wife!"

Forgetting that she was about to swat Jet's hand away and yell at him some more, Katara abruptly turned to Zuko; a disbelieving look on her face. Jabbing her index finger at his chest she hissed indignantly

"Zz … Lee! Argh, I can handle this alone; you don't have to interfere!"

She realized that she almost blew his cover. If Jet noticed who Zuko really was, there was no telling what he might do. But unfortunately that meant she couldn't call Zuko on his lie; she had to play her role and pretend that what her passport said was real. Taking a deep calming breath she turned back to Jet, who gaped at her open mouthed.

"You … you got married? When did THAT happen?! A few weeks ago _we_ …" he trailed off, looking anxiously at Zuko who somehow seemed to produce steam.

"I … we … we've known each other for a long time now and when we met again we just knew it was the right thing to do," lying didn't come easily to her and so she just stopped to let Jet fill in the gaps for himself. He could think all he wanted, she didn't care. Jet noticed that there was something she wasn't telling him, something just wasn't right. He would keep an eye on them, he'll find out, sooner or later, but he preferred sooner.

* * *

**Jet's back and jealousy ensues. Will he get to the bottom of the lies? What happens to the Gaang on the Serpents Pass without Katara to help out? Stay tuned and you'll find out.**

**Remember, reviews make my day and help me write faster. So, don't be shy and give me some :o)  
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	13. Closer Still

**For those of you who wondered why I changed Katara's name in the face documents into Fang: I thought Katara would draw too much attention to her being from the Water Tribe and I'm not too sure if Iroh had known her real name when he got the passports. ****Why Fang? It's a very common Chinese name and means something like wonderfully fragranced. It's just a nice ordinary girls name, nothing too deep about it, sorry.**

**I can't say this often enough – huge thanks to my wonderful betas Appa-Appa-Away and Sven; you never cease to make this story even better.**

**That also applies to all my fantastic reviewers, you give me a lot of ideas I might not have had on my own. I'm so glad you like this story so much and I'm even happier for all the interesting thoughts you have while reading it.**

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Chapter 13

**Closer Still**

So far, their way over the Serpent Pass was eventless; why people made such a fuss about it was beyond them. Sokka even thought it was named wrong, since it wasn't as snaky as he imagined before. But suddenly, the pass stopped, the earth that once had been there had crumbled into the sea. Fear gripped Sokka's heart _'Do we have to go all the way back now?'_ was his only concern.

Aang would have preferred if he had Katara to help him, but it was no use to dwell on that now; he had to get them all safely to the other side of the sea. He bended a big air bubble in which they could all move forward. Tentatively at first, they continued their way through the sea, literally. Left and right they could see the water, fish swimming beside them, well all but Toph; since they were separated from the water by air she couldn't "see" what was going on right next to her.

Suddenly a big water snake appeared beside them, causing Aang to loose his concentration and the water to crash down on the little group. Immediately Toph bended the ground upwards, above the surface of the water; bringing everybody else up with her in the process.

"Sorry guys," Aang felt the need to apologize for the little accident, "Toph, can you bring everyone safely over the sea?" he asked his Earthbending teacher.

"You can bet on it."

Crackling all her knuckles with one swift movement, Toph started to bend the earth back to form a pass that led through the water and to the other side of the lake. While they continued their way, Aang tried to distract the snake, flying around its head in circles. For a while it worked; it even seemed that the snake got slightly dizzy from following Aang's movements. But then it had learned and anticipated Aang's next move, snapping right at the point where he would appear next.

The beast almost got him, but at the very last instant it got hit over the head by a boomerang, which came flying seemingly out of nowhere. Roaring, it turned, searching for the culprit, showing its sharp teeth. A look to his companions told him that they needed more time so, Aang tried to get the attention of the big animal again. Not making the same mistake again, he changed his routine with every circle he drew around it and he managed to confuse the snake again. Eventually, he tricked her into tying herself up in a knot.

Seeing that it was immobilized for the time being, Aang flew back to his friends, continuing the rest of the way with the group.

"Thank you, Sokka, that was close," Aang smiled appreciatively.

"Well, you got saved by the boomer-Aang," Sokka joked; he just loved puns.

"And Toph, without your help we all would have been lost! You were great."

Trying to hide her fierce blush, Toph hit Aang's upper arm with her fist, hard in her trademark way to show affection.

"Don't mention it; that was a piece of cake for me."

"Oh come on Toph, don't be so meek. Team Avatar has saved the day again."

"Sokka, you can call me a lot of things, but I'll NEVER be meek!"

Suki followed the amicably exchange with a smile in her heart, glad for her beloved to have such good friends and that he finally was able to make jokes again. She knew he was still worried sick about his sister, but he was getting better. He was strong and wouldn't go down easily, she loved that about him.

The little family which travelled with the Avatar was vastly happy to have so many skilled warriors to guide them on this dangerous path. But the advanced pregnant woman felt that an entirely different challenge was impending as the contractions that she had felt every now and then for the last few days began to come in short, regular intervals.

* * *

As soon as Jet had left them to do what he had planned initially, which was to steal some food from the ferry's captain, Katara turned to Zuko, almost bursting with indignant anger

"What were you thinking?! Why did you have to tell Jet, that we were married?!"

"Could you be a little quieter, or do you want to blow our cover on purpose?" Zuko hissed back, his own temper rising. He wouldn't admit to her he had temporary lost his mind because he suddenly got tremendously jealous – he just wouldn't, not now, maybe never. Instead of giving Katara the answer she demanded, Zuko turned to his uncle exasperated.

"Why, in all the world, did you get us passports that say we are married, Uncle?"

"You see, my dear nephew, travelling with a beautiful young lady, such as Miss Katara could lead to big trouble, but if she were family, everything will go far smoother for us. Now her appearance makes it clear to anybody with eyes that she is not a relative by blood ... she clearly is more fitting to be your wife than mine, but if I had known you had so much objections ..."

That shut Zuko up effectively. As usual his uncle was right, but that too was something he didn't like to admit.

"But we are far too young to be married yet"

"Ah, you see, you both look far more mature than your age; so when I got you these documents I decided that Lee and Fang would be a few years older then you actually are."

Katara let those words wash over her; 'big trouble... her appearance... blood … married … more mature'. For some reason, this brought her thoughts back to her recent encounter with the Sandbender and she shivered unintentionally. Seeing the movement out of the corner of his eyes, Zuko turned back to Katara to really look at her for the first time since they made their escape. He noticed the haunted look in her eyes and the dark circles underneath. Wondering what might be wrong with her, he stepped closer, laid one hand on her shoulder and asked gently, "What is it that's really bothering you?"

Not stepping away from his touch she just turned her head ashamed and unable to look into his eyes, "Nothing," she mumbled.

With the index finger of his other hand he lifted her chin gently until their eyes met, "I don't believe that," he said without accusation. He watched wordless as she gulped down a big lump in her throat and a single tear ran down her cheek, not wanting to pressure her too much. He pulled her closer and embraced her tightly while she rested her head on his shoulder. After a moment, her hands came up to hold him even closer and he could hear little sobs emanate from her. In a soothing manner he started to stroke the back of her head down to her neck repeatedly, until she calmed down again.

Holding her close, he remembered suddenly that he had seen her in a near catatonic state in that awful cage they were trapped in. Ice cold rage gripped his heart as he imagined what might have been done to her to bring her down like that. He still restrained himself from saying anything; instead he hugged her just a little tighter.

Eventually she lifted her head from his shoulder and, still not looking at him, she revealed to him what got her so upset. Zuko listened silently, wondering how he could have missed the distress Katara had felt the whole time.

"It's ok now, we made it; they can't get us anymore. You are safe now, I promise," he murmured reassuring into her hair. His right hand started a new pattern of slowly stroking her back, while his left arm was still draped around Katara's shoulder, holding her close. Letting out a sigh, Katara snuggled even deeper into the embrace, savouring the feeling of being protected for once.

From a small distance, Iroh watched the display with a knowing smile and a steaming cup of tea. While from the other side of the boat, Jet observed them with envious eyes, all the more determined to find out what secrets the pair tried to keep hidden.

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**Beware of stalker Jet! And how will the Gaang handle child birth without Katara? **

**Reviews are the best reward you can give a writer. Don't be shy, just tell me what you liked and what not.  
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	14. New Life

**Oh WOWY, 100 reviews plus! I never thought my little story would turn out to be so popular. This is a time for celebration.**

**At this point I want to honor my most loyal reviewers Appa-Appa-Awway and Avatarlover1, they gave a review to each and every chapter so far, even the obviously least popular chapter 2 which got only those two reviews. I guess it just wasn't worth it, I was still learning (I still am) but you all kept reading and that's what counts, what's most important.**

**And of course I would never have started to write if Appa hadn't convinced me to, supported me constantly and helped me out as my beta reader, so all of you who like this story, go and say thank you to her. And while you are at it, join Team Zutara, all you have to do is tell Appa in a PM that you wanna be a member.  
**

**As a little gift to say thank you I'm working on a special "thank you fic", dedicated to all my reviewers. As my 100th reviewer xyzisme got the honor to decide what the story should contain.**

**Until I'm ready to present it to you, enjoy the tons of cyber cookies I baked for you and the new chapter of "Conclusion of peace" :o)**

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_Chapter 14_

**New Life**

As they reached the other side of the sea safely, the woman knew it was time. Hunched over, one hand on her belly she told the group to stop. Looking around frantically for any kind of attacker, Sokka asked.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong," Ying replied gently, "it's just that our baby choose now to be born into this world."

"A BABY, NOW?! Oh no!"

A slight fear gripped at Sokka's heart – attackers he could have handled, but witnessing a birth? What was he supposed to do? What if something went wrong? This was the wrong time and definitely the wrong place. Noticing the growing panic in the young warrior the woman tried to alley his fears.

"Don't worry, this isn't my first childbirth," looking lovingly at her teenaged daughter she continued, "I know what I have to do. This is not too complicated, since the beginning of time women all over the world have managed this little wonder."

'_Though I really wish we had a clean bed and a skilled nurse at our hands rights now.'_

"I will need a place to lie down," she said.

This was something he could deal with, a small and simple task. Quickly, he unstrapped the little mat from his back and unrolled it. Suki already had gotten her blanket ready, while Than helped his wife to ease herself onto the mat.

"We will need a lot of water, clean would be best."

Sokka hurried away, happy to have a new, sensible task again. Suki started to make a fire, hoping they would have enough time to boil the water before they would need it.

"Maybe some more privacy would be nice," Aang suggested.

Realizing this was something she could help with, Toph bended walls around the lying woman, creating a giant earth tent. Ying called the girls and discussed with them what she expected them to do, trying as best as she could to remember what the nurse had said and done all those years ago.

Toph had to monitor the infant's little but frantic heartbeat to ensure its safety, listening for any signs of unnatural stress or even worse; for it to fade away. She would have to inform the others immediately if she detected something like that, but to everyone's relief, during the whole ordeal she never had to announce anything.

Suki had watched a delivery a few times, but so far she never had to help. But she was sure she could do it. She was a warrior; blood and pain didn't scare her. Together, they managed and soon the cries of a young infant indicated the arrival of a new life.

The father of the child rushed to his wife's side, happy and proud. Needing to know what was going on and if everything was alright, Sokka also went into the tent in time to witness Suki draping the small bundle into a warm blanket and giving it to its mother. The sight warmed his heart and for one insane moment, he envisioned her holding their firstborn like that. Shaking himself out of it, he went over and hugged Suki tightly, saying to her without words how he felt.

"Don't you want to see the little bugger?"

Aang didn't know. Everyone seemed so happy at this moment and he wasn't too sure he wanted to be a part of it right now.

"It's ok Toph; I have seen little babies before …"

"But never one that I helped deliver. So come on, don't be a party-pooper, let's say hello to the little princess."

"So it's a girl? How do you know?"

Ignoring his question, she grabbed his hand and dragged him to the happy family.

As Ying told them she wanted to name her daughter Hope, because with their help she had found hope again, Aang felt the moisture pool in his eyes. Toph squeezed his hand a little more tightly and looking at her, he noticed that she too was moved to tears.

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For the next few days, Jet followed Katara everywhere she went, hidden in the shadows or behind a bush, he observed her every move. They had moved into a little flat that, as far as Jet could tell, contained of two rooms. The three of them seemed to sleep together in the back room; a concept Jet couldn't grasp. Why hadn't they banned the old man from their bedroom?! If he was newly wed to Katara, or even wed at all, he wouldn't want anybody else around at night.

Though he was dying to know what was happening in there, Jet never dared to spy into their bedroom at night, some things he just didn't wish to see. He tried to discuss those things with Smellerbee, but she just told him to finally leave the couple alone and move on, start with the new life he had promised they would live. But how could he? They had a dark secret; he just knew it and he had to find out what it was, no matter what.

Katara and her 'family' had settled into a daily routine; during the day, they worked in a small but nice tea shop down the street. Soon, Mushy was known to be the best tea brewer in the whole lower ring of Ba Sing Se. The shop was always full of customers and Katara had a sweet smile for every one of them.

In the evening they would go home together, eat a meagre meal and have some tea; this old man surely loved his tea. The chores were done mostly by Katara and the old guy, there was little were Lee would help. That was something Jet could relate to; chores were woman's work. They never stayed awake too long or at least, they left for the bedroom early and they seemed to rise with the sun.

Every day, Mushy brought something new into their flat that made it a little homier, fancy knick knack and plants. All Jet could see was that they lived a simple, ordinary life. But one thing _was_ strange, very strange – since the day they had met on the ferry, he never again saw them exchange caresses, let alone kiss. Shouldn't they be madly in love? If Jet was at Katara's side, he wouldn't be able to keep his hands of her, he was sure of it. And he would feel the need to kiss her every now and then. Why didn't Lee?!

All in all, Katara didn't seem to be very happy. One day, Jet simply had enough; he just couldn't take it anymore. He had to confront her about it. He went into the tea shop, walked up to Katara and started straight away

"Katara, you are not happy with Lee. For the last week I watched you and I can tell that you are anything but…"

"You were spying on us?! You are sick! How could you?!"

"This guy upsets you, he doesn't deserve you."

"You have no right to say that!"

Having heard everything, Zuko came out of the back room, fuming out of anger, literally.

"What are you playing at?" he shouted.

Placing a hand on his chest to calm him down, Katara looked pleadingly into Zuko's eyes, wordlessly begging him not to do anything stupid. Glaring at the other boy he finally asked the question that was bothering him for a while now.

"What happened between you two? What exactly did he do to you? I know you well enough by now, your caring and forgiving nature, for you to still hold a grudge against him he must have done something really terrible to you."

"He used me, my bending, tricked me into thinking I would help people, when actually he was about to commit a mass murder."

"They were Fire Nation …"

"THEY WERE PEOPLE! Civilians, women, children, who most likely hated the war just as much as we do. You had no right to …" her voice broke at that.

Zuko listened with growing horror; what had this punk done to his people?!

"When I realized my mistake, it was too late. He blew up the damn I helped to create, flooding the whole village."

"But nobody got hurt," Jet objected.

"Not thanks to you! If it wasn't for my brother, they all would have died."

So the Avatar and his little group had actually rescued a village full of Fire Nation people? Zuko looked at the girl in front of him with a new found gentleness, love swelling in his heart.

"But … I'm not like that anymore. I have changed. Don't I deserve a second chance?"

"Go and ask that the people who's homes you have destroyed. Prove it; prove to me that you have changed and I might forgive you."

"How can I prove it? What do you want me to do?"

"Be kind and friendly to Fire Nation citizens would be a good start. Or maybe, you could go and befriend the prince of the Fire Nation."

Zuko had to refrain himself from laughing out loud, but he couldn't stop the smirk that spread over his face.

"Yeah, right, as if any of this might be possible, here in Ba Sing Se!"

Defeated, Jet let out a frustrated sigh and left the pair. Katara might not be overly happy with Lee, but it was obvious that she couldn't even stand the sight of Jet right now. He would have to make it up to her somehow; he had to find something …

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**You know by now what it takes to make me happy and write faster ... give me some feedback; tell me what you think about this chapter, please.**


	15. Let's play Master and Servant

**Some things had never been said at the show and in my humble opinion they would have made a big difference. If Zuko had learned about the incident with little Tom-Tom (the baby brother of Mai, thanks for pointing this one out to me ****Saucebender****), Katara's point of view about Jet's actions, the Painted Lady and Katara's refusal to use bloodbending against the Fire Nation in general he would have realized that Katara truly is his soul mate. Unfortunately the Author's didn't want that to happen, but that's what fanfic is for – I gave Zuko some of the info and he instantly fell deeply in love with Katara. Innocent lives have always been very precious to him; just remember why he got his scar! So before last chapter it was friendship and hormones, but now its love for the guy …**

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Chapter 15

**Let's play ... Master and Servant  
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The shop bell rang as the door closed behind a defeated Jet.

Grinning Zuko turned to Katara and whispered into her ear.

"So, you want him to become friends with the prince of the Fire Nation?"

"Stranger things have happened," she replied with a wry smile, "I heard the prince got close with some water peasant too."

"Is that so? What people talk these days."

He shook his head playfully, but suddenly he sobered, remembering something that had been said before.

"He said that you are not happy; why would he say that?"

"I don't know."

Taking her hand gently, Zuko looked deep into Katara's eyes, searching for the truth.

"Is it true? Are you unhappy?"

Sorting through the various layers of feelings she felt right now, she tried to articulate a fitting answer. She wasn't overly happy, but a far cry from being unhappy. And while she still missed her friends and family terribly, she found that she had made new friends in the most unlikely place. Over the last two weeks, Zuko had become one of her closest friends and his kind and wise uncle had rapidly grown on her too. And it wasn't just for her fake passport, that she felt like she just found a new family.

"No, I'm not. My life is good right now. I like being with you."

Seeing that she really meant it reflecting in her eyes, his heart leaped with joy. Pulling her closer, he reached with his other hand for her cheek, stroking it slowly with his thumb. Tentatively, he leaned in; watching her pink mouth, as she nervously licked her lips. As they were only a mere inch apart, he closed his eyes, his heart throbbing in his chest.

"Hey, I don't pay you for giving our customers a show! Do that at home! Table 3, 8 and 12 are waiting for their tea, on 5 there is a new guest and the people from table 10 want to pay. Hurry up and do your job!"

They had completely forgotten where they were, trapped in their own little world, until their boss had brutally ripped them out of it. Blushing fiercely, they went to wait their tables.

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Soon after the birth of Hope, Suki went back to do her job at the refuge haven and the others continued their way to Ba Sing Se. When they finally reached the cities outer wall, they had been shocked to see the big drill that almost succeeded to crash it down.

But together they had managed to stop it. At first, it seemed that they couldn't do it; Sokka had stolen the plans of the giant machine and Aang was supposed to cut the main beam, but it was too sturdy. Maybe, with Katara's help, this plan would have worked, but as things lay, they needed a new plan, fast. As desperation grew, Toph suddenly realized that metal was just a different kind of earth. It took her a while to get the hang of it, but finally, she was in control, bending the metal at her will.

The destruction of the drill seemed like a piece of cake compared to the task of getting an audience at the Earth King. They had vital information that could very well finally end the war, but so far, nobody seemed to listen. Instead, they were shadowed by some strange tourist guide called Joo Dee. While she was always smiling, the people in Ba Sing Se seemed to be frightened of her and as long as she was with them, nobody wanted to provide them with any kind of helpful information.

They had to get rid of that girl and close to the King; time was starting to run short. The idea struck as Sokka read the morning paper.

"These people are so weird, the Earth King gives a party for his bear … can you believe it?"

"A party, huh? Do you think they would invite the Avatar?" Aang asked hopefully.

"What a great idea, and if we don't get invited officially we can always sneak in undetected."

"Undetected? You? Dream on, buddy."

"Why not?!"

"You haven't got any manners; you would stick out like a sore thumb."

It took them a while to convince her, but in the end, Toph showed the boys how to behave in the high society, introduced them to the dos and don'ts and finally helped them to dress up.

Since it was back to the three of them for most of the time, Aang and Sokka forgot that Toph was both blind and a girl. It felt like they were three best buddies on one big adventure. But as she stepped tentatively out of her room, blushing and embarrassed, they couldn't ignore it any longer – Toph _was_ a girl; a beautiful one. Mouth hanging open, minds going blank, they stared at her.

"Say something!" Toph demanded, "Does this look too girly?"

Regaining the ability to think, they hurriedly assured her that she was just perfect and left together for the big party, while in the back room, a terrified Joo Dee didn't know what just happened; one moment she'd helped the little girl to get in touch with her inner woman and the very next, she was encased in unyielding earth.

They were vastly disappointed when they weren't let in the official way, but that only meant they had to switch to plan B; enter undetected through the back door and blend in with the crowd. Once inside, Sokka's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets and it was only for Toph's quick and resolute intervention that he didn't blow their cover.

Holding his hand like a vice, she whispered only for him to hear while smiling sweetly to the people they passed by.

"Swallow, before your drool wets the whole floor and people get hurt, slipping on it."

"But … but, have you seen all that delicious food?"

"No," she answered pointedly.

"Oh, right, I forgot, again. So, there are plates filled with the tenderest meat you've ever tasted …" Sokka enthused.

"Come on, what do you know about my eating habits, plus, have you actually had a taste; was it as good as it looks? Get your head off the food plates and let's find the Earth King."

It proved to be quite a difficult task to find the Earth King, since they didn't know what he looked like; it could have been practical anybody at that party. Suddenly, Toph went rigid, having recognised a voice. A middle aged woman dressed in splendour noticed them and exclaimed with a contrived, ladylike squeal.

"Toph? Toph Bei Fong? What a pleasure meeting you here. How do you do?"

"Lady Pang, the pleasure is all mine. It's good to see a familiar face in this crowd."

"Indeed, indeed. I didn't know you were invited too. I haven't met you parents yet."

"That's because they are not here, yet. I came early with … with my fiancé, Sokka."

The woman looked condescendingly at Sokka.

"Fiancé you say, hmm I don't know him. Your … obstruction shouldn't have caused your parents to give you away to such … low …"

"Hey! Sokka IS the first born of the King of the Sothern Water Tribe, the heir to the throne; I think you should show a little more respect."

Sputtering embarrassed, the lady made a quick exit, leaving a stunned Sokka and a smug Toph in her wake.

"What was that?! I'm your fiancé and a prince now? How can you lie like that and not even blush one bit?"

"Oh come on, it wasn't a total lie. Your father is the chief of your tribe, isn't he? In my book, that equals a King. And besides, that arrogant nutter needed to be put into her place."

"Hey, if Sokka is your fiancé, then what am I?" Aang asked.

"You can be my servant. You know, a helpless, blind girl shouldn't go out without her servant. You also have to be my chaperone, protecting my virtue."

It was a mystery to them how Toph could say and behave like that and keep a straight face at the same time. While on the outside, Aang went with it, on the inside he was fuming; he didn't know why, but it bothered him to no end that he had to play the role of the servant / chaperone; he'd rather be something else, someone a little closer to the beautiful girl. This was so unfair, Sokka already got Suki …

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Never before had a shift been this long. Every now and then Katara and Zuko would steal a glance at each other, blushing ever so slightly, but not daring to even talk one private word to each other again, afraid where that might lead to, afraid to loose their jobs.

Hours went by and Katara got more and more agitated; her head and back have started to hurt badly, long ago. When their shift was finally over, she wanted nothing more than to go home and maybe take a hot bath; even after her first day at work she hadn't felt as much exhausted.

To her relief, Iroh had offered to run the errands alone, sending Zuko along with Katara, to take care of her.

But when he returned home, Iroh was in for a big surprise; through the open window, soft moans of a young female were heard …

"… mmmh, yeah, that's good, mmmh … a little harder please … yesss, like that …. ahhh…

You sure, you never did this before? You're so good at it … and now, just a little deeper … mmmh..."

He shouldn't have sent them home alone, Iroh scolded himself; he had known they had feelings for each other, but he never would have suspected they'd go this far. He should have given them "The Talk" earlier. He was the responsible adult; why hadn't he seen this coming?!

Standing before the front door of his home; Iroh contemplated his options. He could simply leave and give them some privacy; it was too late now to protect their virtue anyway. Or he could make a boisterous entrance, stopping what was going on immediately.

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**You all know what I want right now! Do it, press the little button that reads review and tell me what you think right now. Pretty please, with cherry on top :o)**

**And then, when you are done you can take some more of my cyber cookies and read the little "thank you story" I wrote especially for my loyal reviewers. It's called "Fire Proof" and was challenged by ****xyzisme****, my 100****th**** reviewer.**


	16. The Mystery of Right and Sin

**Sorry, that I kept you waiting for so long, but live got in the way …**** A good friend of mine had a bad break up and now she needs a lot of counselling and fun activities to distract her from the pain. So I was busy, a lot.**

**As always I want to thank my betas ****Appa-Appa-Away**** and ****Sven**** for all their precious help.**

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Chapter 16

**The Mystery of Right and Sin**

Eventually Iroh came to the conclusion that it might be best to stop them now to prevent even worse things from happening. They were young and inexperienced; chances were they hadn't spared a single thought about protection. Not wanting Katara to conceive at such a young age, Iroh steeled himself, took a deep breath and noisily opened the door.

"Do you realize that you are in fact not truthfully married and that Miss Katara is underage?!"

The scene that greeted the olds man was nothing like he had expected. Katara was sitting astride on a chair, her back turned to a standing Zuko who had both his hands still on her shoulders, where he had obviously kneaded out some of her tensions. Both of them where fully dressed and were now looking at him as if he'd lost it.

As it finally sunk in what he must have thought was going on between them, they blushed a deep crimson and even the experienced veteran blushed heavily. Deciding he needed some more supplies from the local store, he fled the scene quickly. He would give them "The Talk", …later, when the embarrassment was gone.

"What was that?!" Katara wondered out loud.

Bending down, Zuko let his hands glide over her collar bone until they came to rest on the opposite shoulder blades, to hug her with his arms crossed in front of her. As he whispered in her ear, his lips almost grazed her earlobe.

"Guess he's embarrassed that he misinterpreted the cause of your contented sighs…"

Hugging her tighter, he let his lips linger at the point where the neck meets the jaw, his hot breath trailing down her skin. Feeling her pulse quickening and her body temperature rise, Katara started to pant lightly. Had Iroh just given him ideas?! Would she be able to resist him if he started something now? Did she even want to?

After what seemed like an eternity in his embrace, Katara rose from her seat, bringing him up with her. He let his left hand slide down her arm and took her hand while he brought the other up to comb through her hair. He looked deep into her eyes as if searching for something. He must have found it when he tugged on her hand and led her over to the other room. After shutting the door, in hope not to be disturbed again he turned to Katara, pulling her closer. She obeyed willingly, stepping closer. She laid both her hands on his chest, hoping he wouldn't notice how much they were shaking.

With his left hand at the small of her back, he held her close, while his right touched her face lightly, gracing over her cheek until his fingertips went into her hair. He stroked her temple slowly with his thumb, looking deep into her eyes again. He swallowed hard as she licked her lip in anticipation and started ever so slowly to lean in.

Maddening slow their faces neared and as their lips almost met, they closed their eyes. With light pressure and tentative at first, their lips touched for the first time, but soon passion took over when Zuko deepened the kiss. Ever so often he would nip her lower lip and give it a sensual flick with his tongue until she finally opened her mouth to let him in.

This was so much like her dream and yet so different. For starters, she didn't feel guilty and he was no longer the enemy. And where her dream kiss had been all about wild passion, this was so much more romantic, but it was driving her crazy just the same. She let her hands slide down his torso and around to hold him closer while stoking his back lovingly. When she noticed that her knees got weak, Zuko slowly moved them until she was supported by the wall.

Abandoning her lips he rained small kisses up her jaw line, gave her earlobe a little nip and murmured huskily into her ear.

"Oh god, Katara, I love you so much. I'll never let you go."

For a split second she started, but decided that this must be a heat of the moment thing and let it slide, besides; it was a big turn on to be wanted so much. She distinctly thought that he might expect her to say something in return, but she found that she couldn't. What was she supposed to say? She wasn't sure that what she felt for Zuko could be called love and an "I have really strong feelings for you too" or an "I like you very much" just didn't sit well; so she kept quiet, enjoying the exquisite feelings that raked her body, wanting to stay like this forever.

But in the back of her mind, a nagging little voice told her that she couldn't and shouldn't and it grew louder. Finally she voiced her concerns.

"We should … stop this now."

Planting another kiss on her mouth Zuko murmured lazily, "Why? I don't wanna."

"Yeah, me neither," Katara sighed, "but your uncle will most likely come back soon. Imagine, he'll find us making out in the bed chamber; he might just faint."

Chuckling, he had to give it to her, she had a point.

"It's not like we can't do this again …" blushing fiercely at her bold comment, Katara bowed her head down. But Zuko wouldn't have it, putting one crouched index finger under her chin; he lifted her head until she was looking at him again.

"We'll definitely do this more often from now on," he promised and leaned in for one last lingering kiss.

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At the same time in another part of the town, Katara's brother had the time of his life. Stalking through the crowd, telling everybody who would so much as look at him that he was the prince of the Water Tribe, a beautiful girl at his side and more food than he could have ever dreamed of.

They still hadn't found the Earth King, but to Sokka, it didn't matter too much at this moment. He had discovered that the best meat was placed in front of a big bear wearing a huge shirt and a funny green hat. Leaving Toph's side, he went over to the table.

"Hello buddy," he addressed the animal, "you sure don't mind sharing these goodies with the prince of the Water Tribe now, do you?" and with that he dug into the delicacies.

"Hey! Hey, you vile glutton! What makes you think you can just do that?"

"What, eating?! I am the prince of the …"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, I don't care who you are. Do you have any idea what I had to do to get seats near the Kings pet bear?!"

"This is the bear of the King? The _Earth King_?!"

A big torch light ignited over Sokka's head. He had read that this whole party was for this bear and if the bear was here, the king couldn't be far away. Looking at the people around him more closely, he couldn't detect anyone who looked particularly kingly; they all looked noble, but nobody stood out. And nobody seemed to care exceedingly for the big dressed up animal with the even bigger appetite.

"So, care to tell me," Sokka started casually, "where could the lording of this cute little teddy be?"

Looking strange at the weird man before him, the noble answered anyway, "He's not here yet!"

"What?! Why?! I have something very important to tell him. I know how to stop the war."

"As always, the King will have his grand entrance at midnight."

"Oh, okay. Thanks for the info."

With a shaking head the man looked at Sokka's retreating back,

'_What a strange young man … and what kind of war was he talking about?'_

Unfortunately for Sokka, this didn't go unnoticed by the officials.

"Something strange is going on," Toph whispered into Aang's ear, "maybe we should go into hiding. Where is Sokka, I can't see him anywhere?"

"I bet we'll find him where the meat is," Aang tried to joke, but a tight knot started to form in the pit of his stomach. If Toph couldn't "see" Sokka … that meant bad news.

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**A lot of you guessed right, of course they weren't doing 'it'****. As ****gizmo.a**** pointed out so nicely: "****well, she did say her back was hurting didn't she?"**

**They kissed! Finally! Did you like it? I hope I could display the feelings in an appropriate way.**

**You all know how much I love feedback; please, tell me what you think.**

**On that note, I would have liked to have some more feedback for the "100****th**** reviews reward story" too. According to some harsh reviewer who shall remain unnamed, insufficient reviews are a sign that the story is bad. Did you think "Fire Proof" is bad? :o( **

**If so, it's ok, if not, just go there again and leave a short "liked it", or something like that, pretty please, with cherry on top (but, please, don't forget the review for this chapter over it).**


	17. Torn

**Sorry for the delay. You have no idea how busy my day are nowadays and I get the feeling that I'm permanently excusing for being late, not only on ffn *sighs***

**I guess it's time to say it again: I do not own the Avatar or any of the characters in this story, not even Lady Pang, since I took the name from the show (when Toph tried to get into the palace by using her own name and the names of other important people).**

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Chapter 17:

**Torn**

This wasn't happening, again! Why did everything always go so awfully wrong?!

For the last two weeks, there was no life sign of Katara and even though they had walked the whole town and asked the people until their tongues bled, nobody had seen Appa either. When the Earth King finally showed up at his party, he didn't believe one word they were saying and on top of that, now they had lost Sokka too, right under their noses. Life just wasn't fair!

Aang and Toph still had trouble to figure out what exactly had happened and why neither of them had noticed a thing. Toph felt like crying, this was like Appa all over again, only ten times worse; she hadn't even noticed that Sokka was being taken until he was actually gone, and she had no clue who was responsible, though she had a strong suspicion that somehow, Long Feng and the Dai Li were involved, but she had no proof.

It had felt so good to pretend that she and Sokka were a pair. Though she knew she would never be more than a good friend to the Water Tribe boy, she had taken a secret liking to him. And then it had all ended so badly.

At first, they had hoped for a reasonable cause for his absence. Toph checked all the areas which provided food, while Aang searched in the bathrooms and behind the building; it could have been that he had gotten sick after eating too much. After coming up empty handed, they hoped with all their hearts that he simply went home and they would all meet again once they got home too. But that had been nothing more than wishful thinking.

In their grief, Toph and Aang huddled together for the remaining night, unable to sleep and not daring to let go, fearing they might lose each other too.

In the early morning hours, they discussed their options and eventually came up with a plan on how to get information on the whereabouts of their friends. While Aang went to get some flyers produced with the portrays of Katara, Sokka and Appa, which would hopefully fall into the hands of someone who was willing to help them, Toph stayed home, still hoping Sokka might just come home by himself and to pester Joo Dee with an interrogation about any useful information. This girl had to be in on the conspiracy, the way she somehow always was around and hindered them to get any helpful hint.

After a night in earthly restraints, she was not in her best shape, but still she refused to cooperate, stating there was nothing going on. Toph was getting strange vibes from the girl, while what she said seemed not to be a lie it wasn't the truth either.

Toph had to be ... creative. She shot little pebbles at Joo Dee's forehead, which was irritating at first but soon got very hurtful. When Joo Dee started to complain, Toph knew she was ready for step two: psychological warfare!

"Nobody knows you are here, or they would long since have come for you, don't you think?" Toph made a dramatic pause to let it sink in then continued. "We won't tell them that it was you who gave us the information. But if you don't ..." she let the sentence hang in the air, giving Joo Dee the opportunity to contemplate all sorts of punishment before she continued "Do you have any idea what I could do to you; what I am going to do to you if you don't start talking soon? And that will be nothing in comparison to what Aang will do if he loses his cool and gets into the Avatar State."

During the whole talk, Toph never stopped to hit the girl with pebbles. Though Joo Dee didn't say a word, Toph could see that her "encouragement" was taking effect.

The poor girl was squirming in her place and starting to sweat heavily. When she heard about the possibility to be confronted by the Avatar, her eyes widened in fear and she gulped hard. Then, suddenly she lost consciousness, maybe the last pebble hit her too hard or the stress was finally too much for her to take.

Aang had been more successful, when he came back; he carried a big pile of flyers. A short note informed the reader that those on the pictures are missing and that whoever had seen them should contact Aang under the address he was currently living under. Seeing that Sokka had not returned on his own, nor had Joo Dee provided any information, Aang left home again and started to rain the flyers over Ba Sing Se while flying on his glider.

* * *

It was pure coincidence that Zuko chose the exact moment to take a little break from work as Aang flew over the little tea shop of the lower ring. One sheet of paper sailed down in front of him and he took it, curious to what it might be. When he found out he started, a rush of many different emotions flooded his system.

_The Avatar is here!_

Looking up, he could see him fly, but there was no need to follow the bald monk; everything he needed to know lay already in his hands.

_He is searching for Katara! So they hadn't abandoned her__, back then._

Zuko wondered what exactly had happened to make it that they got separated the way they were now. Obviously, the Avatar was all alone now. He was an easier prey than he had ever been. But if he captured the little monk now, it would ruin his new found relationship with Katara. And what if Katara found out that her friend was here, so close to her? Would she leave him to join the Avatar again? Zuko felt a severe pang at that thought – she might leave him, soon! And what if she found out that her brother was missing too? She would be so worried.

The jumbling thoughts and emotions were threatening to drive him crazy. He had to find answers, solutions. He left the tea shop … to go shopping.

It proofed difficult to get swords of high quality that could replace the ones he lost to the Sandbenders, but it was impossible to get another mask of the Blue Spirit. It probably wouldn't have done him much good anyway; if the shop owner had recognised the young man who had bought the mask … He just had to be careful and make sure he stayed unseen in the shadows. After hiding the swords at home, he went back to work, anxious for the night to come when he could take further action.

As presumed, it was rather easy for Zuko to threaten a weak guard into revealing all the information he needed and to providing access to the underground lair the "prisoners" were kept.

Once inside, Zuko had to prevent the guard from alarming his comrades to his presence, so he hit him hard on the back of his head with the handle of one of his swords. The man fell down, unconscious, and was securely bound and gagged. Zuko left him to be found by one of his buddies and hoped that wouldn't happen too soon.

On his way, Zuko passed an open door and saw a few dozens of young people, all dressed the same, repeating in perfect sync the words the leader was telling them.

_Strange, what is this, some secret soldier training?! But they all sound so … dull, as if they are on drugs or maybe brain damaged._

Soon he found the cell where the big animal was kept. Soundlessly, Zuko opened the heavy door and stepped inside the dimly lit room, the intense smell that hit his nostrils made him feel queasy.

Never before had he been this close to the flying bison. Most of the time, he had watched it as the Avatar made his escapes on it. Cautiously, Zuko touched the soft fur, picturing Katara stroking its soft head. She loved this animal, he was sure of it. Having accomplished his first task, he contemplated his next moves. What should he do now?

Capturing the Avatar, returning home to the Fire Nation and his father, regaining his honour; those were the top priority on his mind for the last three years and for the first time in the same amount of time, his goal seemed to be almost in his grasp, but... Katara. If he did capture the Avatar now, Katara wouldn't like it one bit; that much was clear. And if he was to go to the Fire Nation, would she go with him? All this time they travelled together, she only stayed by his side because she hoped he would lead her to the Avatar and she would be reunited with her friends. Had things changed for her too? It did look that way, but he couldn't be sure. But, what if she really didn't want to follow him to his homeland? Did he truly want to stay here in Ba Sing Se? He was the rightful heir to the throne ... he wanted to change things, change the world, end this stupid war. How could he achieve any of this if he stayed here, stayed a refugee, working as a servant in a tea shop?

His heart grew heavy as he realized that he had to make a choice, one that would change everything. He cut the restraints from Appa's feet with his sharp swords, climbed on top of him and guided the big furry animal out of the underground lair.

* * *

**I know you are all worried about Sokka, you will hear of him again, soon.**

**You all know what would make me really happy right now, so have a heart and do it.**

**And of course I don't want to forget to thank ****Appa-Appa-Away**** and ****Sven**** for their help as my beta: thank you guys, you are great.**


	18. You saw the signs but not their sense

**Thank you all for your amazing support****, you have no idea how much it means to me. And I have to say that I'm sorry that I didn't got to reply the reviews this time, but I'm happy that I managed to get this chapter ready. Time is so scarce nowadays. **

**Thank you Appa-Appa-Away and Sven for your great job as my betas (do you say betas when you have more than one or is it still beta?). Where would I be without you?**

* * *

Chapter 18

**You saw the signs but not their sense**

From a distance, Zuko watched the teary reunion of the flying bison and its Avatar.

'_So you got something back you dearly missed and I'll keep the other to myself, that's just fair, don't you think? You can even have all the__ fame of being the one who ends the war; I don't care about the glory. But I'm counting on you to succeed. After all, my father isn't afraid of you for nothing. Just don't let the world down and do your job, while I'll take good care of Katara, I promise.'_

But when he came home, Zuko felt sick; he couldn't see or walk straight, his head hurt and it felt as if he was on fire. He almost made it back into his bed before he collapsed on the floor with a loud bang.

* * *

When she woke up in the morning, Joo Dee seemed different…

The most obvious change about her was that her memory somehow was all jumbled. Aang had the strange feeling that Toph might have hit her head too hard and that she suffered from a serious concussion.

The other change was that her never wavering smile was now replaced with a terrified expression on her face. She was begging her captors to let her go, stating they would all get into serious trouble if they didn't, including herself. That was strange; who was she so afraid of?

While they were still trying to figure out what was wrong with Joo Dee, the front door suddenly opened. Recognising who it was even before he stepped through the door, Toph cried out, "Sokka, you're back!"

"Sokka, were have you been? We were so worried," Aang asked the Water Tribe boy.

"You shouldn't have been. I'm intelligent and strong; what could have happened to the Prince of the Water Tribe?" and with that, he stepped forward, embraced Toph in a tight hug and planted a kiss right onto her lips. "But it's good to see that you missed me so much, my dear."

"You can drop the act now," a thoroughly embarrassed Toph exclaimed.

"What act?"

"You know; the one we played at the party… hmpf, never mind!"

"Anyways, I have thought about our situation and came to the conclusion it would be best if we leave this place as soon as possible."

"Sokka, why are you talking so funny? And have you forgotten that we have to convince the Earth King to help us with the invasion?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Aang, the Earth King will never help us with that matter. It will all be just a big waste of time."

"Snap out of it, Prince Charming, that's so not like you to give up just like that! We have to try it at least!" Toph said sternly.

* * *

Finally they figured out a few things; Long Feng really was a bad guy who controlled a huge army of secret agents. Joo Dee – or maybe her name was Cui; she was no longer sure about such things – was one of them.

They had to confront the Earth King again. According to Joo Dee, the King wasn't in on the conspiracy. It seemed he was just a mere puppet, kept in the dark on purpose by Long Feng. Well, that was about to change.

It took them a while to convince Sokka and Joo Dee that it was for the best, but in the end, they all went to the palace together. Jo Dee was still quite nervous, but she had to come; she herself was the long missing proof they needed to bring Long Feng down.

Of course, things never run so smooth, and after the first row of accusations, which were thoroughly denied by Long Feng, he said something that seemed oddly like a spell.

"The Earth King invites you to Lake Laogai."

"And I'm happy to take the invitation."

Strange enough, Joo Dee and Sokka said the words dull but perfectly synchronized.

"What are you talking about? I never gave any invitations to Lake Laogai. Long Feng, I demand an explanation!"

Seeing that the eerie smile was back on Joo Dee's face and all traces of Cui were gone, Aang knew their plan had failed. All evidence had been removed. How? He didn't know exactly that had happened. Maybe she was just too afraid of what Long Feng might do to her and what he just said was a coded warning. So deep in thought about Joo Dee and the backlash they had just received, he totally missed that Sokka had responded too and was acting even weirder than before.

Bowing down to the Earth King, Sokka started to apologize, "Oh, please excuse our untoward forwardness, Your Highness. We didn't mean to interrupt your ... whatever it was we interrupted. We'll leave now," he finished lamely and tried to drag his friends out of the room.

"Hey, Sokka, that's enough! What's wrong with you?! Do you even remember that this was your plan?" using his real name for once, Toph tried to shake Sokka out of what ever stupor he seemed to currently be in.

"Come on, Sokka, we can't leave now," Aang chimed in, "we have to end the war! Tell the Earth King what you found out; tell him about the solar eclipse..."

"Telling the King about some phenomenon in the sky will only waste his time. Let's go now!"

They kept arguing back and forth for a while. The Earth King occasionally queried something, like wanting to know why these kids kept talking about a war he was sure didn't exist. Searching for answerers and support from Long Feng, the King could be convinced by neither Aang nor Toph that strange things were going on behind his back.

Thankfully, they eventually remembered the drill the Fire Nation had used to break through the outer wall of Ba Sing See not long ago. Bribing the King with a flight on Appa was a full success and when the King saw the evidence with his own eyes, he couldn't deny the reality any longer. He had to realize that the man he had trusted the most had deceived him for years. And for the first time since his coronation, he made a decision on his own; he ordered his guards to throw Long Feng into prison, where he rightfully belonged.

A search through Long Feng's belongings, especially his documents, brought interesting results. And some of them were of great importance for Aang and his friends.

* * *

Aang was on his way to the Eastern Air Temple to meet some Guru named Pathik, because of some document that supposedly was attached to one of Appa's horns when Long Feng found him. Aang only hoped that this wasn't a trap.

In the lonesome silence high above the Earth Kingdom landscape, Aang remembered the latest turns of events.

Sokka had finally returned home; that was a good thing, though something about him seemed off. Aang couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was, but he was acting weird. Like that they had to practically drag him to the Earth King and when they were finally there, all he wanted to do was leave again. That didn't make any sense and it wasn't like Sokka at all. Aang hoped that the important task they gave Sokka would snap him out of it, whatever it was. Even though Sokka would have given anything to see his father again, he was more than willing to meet the Earth Kingdom generals to plan the invasion. Aang had a good feeling about this; Sokka was good at making plans and this would finally give him the opportunity to prove himself to his father. And who knew? A document found on the desk of Long Feng; maybe Hakoda wasn't at Chameleon Bay at all; maybe that was something that was supposed to lure them away from Ba Sing Se.

They were all separated now, with Katara still who knew where, Sokka in Ba Sing Se and Toph had gone to meet her mother. There had been a letter with the seal of the Bei Fong family among the documents. At first, Toph hadn't wanted to open it; she was sure it contained the strict order to return home. But after some persuasion, she let Aang break the seal and read the letter to her. Hearing about the appreciation and sympathy her mother showed her almost brought Toph to tears, as usual she covered it up quickly. But Aang had seen it and found it to be the most endearing thing he had witnessed in the last two weeks. Smiling, he imagined the meeting between mother and daughter.

* * *

**I know that Zuko seems way out of character when he decides to give up everything for Katara, but basically he made the same decision under his uncle's advice in the show. Iroh asked Zuko what he planed to do with the giant bison, if he wanted to take it home. But Zuko never wanted to capture the animal, he wanted to use it to get Aang, so he could have tried to fly on Appa in hope he would bring the person that freed him to Aang, or he could have tried to follow him. But after being told to think about what he really wanted he made the conscious decision to let the Avatar get away this time (just like**** he did at the end of "The Storm").**

**In my story he doesn't have the assistance of his uncle for his decision (though Iroh's influence over the past three years didn't go unnoticed) but he has a better reason for his decision, for the first time in his life he found love (ok, beside the love of his mother and from Iroh). And he doesn't abandon the world and the prospect of world peace; he has faith in Aang to bring that...**

**So, what do you say? Do you still like the story? Did you detect some flaws? Let me know, please. As you all know feedback makes the writer happy.**


	19. Vision Thing

**A huge thank you to ****Appa-Appa-Away**** who helped me a lot with this chapter and ****Sven****; where would I be without you two, my precious betas?**

**And a ton of thank you to all my reviewers! It's almost 160 reviews now, guess I have to think something up for my 200****th**** review…**

**Last time there was a little Zuko and Katara shortage, this time it's not. And now, get comfy … and enjoy the tale.**

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**Vision Thing**

Chapter 19:

His concerns had been for naught; the Guru had waited for Aang at the Eastern Air Temple and proved to be very helpful, even if he had the strangest tastes – banana onion juice, yuck! As usual, Aang turned out to be quick on the uptake and soon, he had most of his chakras opened. But when he learned what he had to do to open his last – the seventh chakra – he wanted out. How was he supposed to let go of Katara?! What was this Guru thinking? Katara was everything to him; his lifeline, mentor, teacher, mother, best friend and hopefully, soon, lover ... How could he ever let go of her?

But in the end, Aang was convinced that it had to be. He had to do it, for the greater good and for Katara. After all, if he wanted to find and rescue Katara, it would be best if he was able to master the Avatar State.

_We still don't know where Katara is. She could be dead. NO! Don't think that! She isn't dead, she can't be! She has to be somewhere, most likely in the Fire Nation. I better start to concentrate on what has to be done, and then I'm going to save her.'_

While doing so, Aang had a vision of Katara; she was in a small house, looking tired and sad. Suddenly, two arms reached out for her and grabbed her shoulders. Aang's point of view changed and to his immense horror, he saw Prince Zuko with an unreadable expression on his face which Aang suspected was furious rage. He felt sick to the bones with worry for Katara's well being.

_'So she _**_is_**_ alive and relatively unharmed, but by the looks of it, that could change soon. She is imprisoned by Prince Zuko – of all people! If he does anything to Katara, I'll make him regret it; he'll pay, dearly,' __Aang_vowed.

With renewed purpose, he concentrated on his task. It was the hardest thing he ever did, letting Katara go, but eventually, he succeeded.

* * *

At first, Katara had been worried when she realized that she was unable to heal Zuko. But Iroh had dispelled her concerns, explaining that the cause for his fever was a supernatural one due to his change of heart, elicited by his feelings for her. Though it relaxed her somewhat, it also felt rather strange to believe that Zuko suffered so much because of her and his feelings for her. She didn't like to be the cause of Zuko's ailment, especially when she had to witness the troublesome nightmares he seemed have all the time.

Occasionally, he would wake up for a few minutes, disorientated and agitated, drink a lot and fall back into a fitful sleep. Katara wasn't sure he noticed that she was even there, but she hadn't left his side since he came back and collapsed the other night. Sticking to her cover as his wife, Katara had taken some days off from work to take care of Zuko. It had been two days already and there was still no change.

Attending Zuko gave her time to think. She wondered why they had settled down instead of searching for Aang. It had always been top priority to Zuko to find and more importantly capture Aang. But lately, it seemed as if he had lost his focus. Now that she had the time to think about it, it seemed so strange that he would even contemplate to work as a tea boy. But to her, he made the impression as if he was happy.

The more she contemplated the options, the more she was afraid that the Sandbender who had tortured Zuko might have done some damage to his brain. Or was it all an act and he just wanted to lure her into being careless so that she wouldn't stop him in time. Was she putting Aang in danger? But … they had kissed, and it had felt … real, these feelings they had, they were real.

It also felt somewhat strange that the once great general Iroh now seemed so happy to do this lowly job. Not too long ago, he had fought to take over Ba Sing Se and now he was serving its inhabitants tea. Can people really change that much? Katara was sure the amiable old man wasn't dissembling; the more she thought about it the more she felt that she could really trust these people.

Though this was so strange, not long ago, Zuko resembled the face of the enemy and now he had become part of her "family". Or was it the other way around and she was now a part of his family?! That thought was slightly unsettling, but she pushed it to the side.

Deep down, Katara knew she should be searching for what used to be her family, but at the same time, she didn't want to leave her current companions. She didn't want to leave Zuko. If she talked to him about joining the Avatar again, would he get mad again? Or worse, would she set his focus back on his track?

During the long hours of the day, while Iroh was out to earn the money for them, she imagined every possible scenario and a lot of them weren't pretty. But there were also quite a few where everything turned out fine, she and Zuko would end up happy, Aang would defeat the Fire Lord and the world would be safe and peaceful.

Zuko was once again having a nightmare; he was whimpering in his sleep and big beads of sweat pooled at his forehead. Letting out a deep sigh Katara took a rag out of a bowl filled with fresh water, wrung it a little and wiped away the sweat from Zuko's face, like she'd done every few minutes over the past two days, hoping that he'd get better soon.

* * *

It was midday and the sun burned mercilessly down on Zuko. He was shackled up tightly with heavy iron chains and forced to stay on his hands and knees, sweat was slowly running down his face and naked chest. Flames surrounded him, adding to the heat and they seemed to crawl closer. His father looked condescendingly down at him; calling him all sorts of names – traitor and disgrace the most prominent. In the background, Azula laughed like a maniac, while what seemed like the whole Fire Nation was watching. Eventually, his father lost interest in him and called the Sages. When they stepped forward, a ceremony started – a coronation.

"Sorry Zuzu, but now that you decided you rather be a peasant than a crown prince, I will be the next Fire Lord! I'll take your place, while you can go on consorting with peasants. It suits you, you disgusting fool," Azula scoffed. Finally the flames engulfed Zuko and swallowed him up.

The next thing he knew, he was flying high above a small valley on the Avatar's bison. The sun showed mercy this time, hiding behind a cloud, the wind and tiny droplets of dew were cooling Zuko's skin. Katara was at his side, but she didn't seem to be happy. A distrustful, unfriendly look was in her eyes, just like old times; the way she used to look at him, back then when they were still enemies.

She started an argument and was getting fairly agitated, but Zuko couldn't understand a word she said; all he heard was the rushing of his own blood. What was wrong? Why was she behaving like this? What had he done to make her so mad? He was choked up with pain.

Katara stood up and moved over to Zuko, doubtlessly to bring their argument to a higher, more physical, level; she looked ready to hit him. She loaded her arms up with water and struck. But as she lashed out at him, she lost her balance and fell off the flying animal. With lightning speed, Zuko rushed forward to save her and succeeded in catching her right hand.

Trying his best not to fall off the giant Bison too, Zuko held on for dear life. But Katara was slowly slipping from his grasp. He followed up with his left hand, gripping her tightly beneath her wrist, but it still wasn't enough. Frantically shouting for Katara to give him her other hand too, Zuko tried to pull her up.

But she didn't help, keeping her hand idly at her side, her body dangling in the air; she made no attempt to climb back up. When she looked at him, her eyes were cold as ice.

"This is all your fault," she spat, before she slipped from his grasp completely and rapidly fell to the ground. Helplessly, Zuko had to watch, his anguish almost unbearable.

"Katara, NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

With a start, Zuko sat bolt upright, wide awake. In front of him sat Katara, unharmed, but with a concerned and sad expression on her face, to his relief, a friendly one. Feeling the overwhelming need to confirm that she was really there, that it all had been nothing more than a bad dream, Zuko reached out with both his hands for Katara's shoulders, pulling her near and into a tight hug. She went willingly into his embrace and hugged him back, relieved that he was awake again.

"Everything is fine; you just had a bad dream. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I dreamed … I lost you … it was awful ..."

"I'm here, I'm not going anywhere. It's ok now."

"May I … would you … hold me while I sleep?"

"Of course I will."

With quick movements, Katara got up and fetched her mattress to place it beside Zuko's. Once she was done, she combed her fingers through Zuko's hair to show him that she was back. Wordlessly, she lay down and took Zuko into her arms. He reacted instantly by scooting closer and laying his head on her shoulder. Feeling secure and snug like he hadn't in a very long time, he let out a deep sigh and soon fell into a deep, peaceful and most importantly, dreamless sleep.

* * *

**You know why I love this part so much? Because Katara is mothering Zuko****. I always thought that this was a good thing, because even if he'd never admit it he still needs a mother badly. And with his own mother gone, Katara is the best thing that could have happened to him. So this time the sleeping together is all about comfort and that's all they feel, no subliminally erotic, sorry if you thought otherwise. **

**Please let me know if you liked it, too.  
**

**I will be on vacation for a week, starting this Saturday****, unfortunately without internet, so the next chapter will be a bit later than usual.**

**I wish all of you great holydays and a happy new year.**


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